


Act III: Love Lost

by LadyCorvidae, roseforthethorns



Series: Don't Stand So Close to Me [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anal Sex, Angst, Attempted Murder, Back rubs, Blood, Broken Hearts, Dirty Talk, Doubt, Explicit Language, F/M, Fighting, First Time, Forbidden Love, Hair Kink, Hand Job, M/M, Murder, Poison, Professor!Lock, Romance, Sexy Times, Smut, Snogging, Teasing, Threats, Violence, lying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-25
Updated: 2012-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-10 16:39:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 41,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/468434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyCorvidae/pseuds/LadyCorvidae, https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseforthethorns/pseuds/roseforthethorns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We return from winter break as the drama begins to escalate. Jim and Seb are more involved than ever with each other and planning Molly's death...while the girl and Sherlock grow closer.</p><p>(I own nothing of these characters. All Sherlock rights go to the BBC, Moffat, and Gatiss. I'm just having some fun.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where the Heart Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks after coming back to school, it's time for reading in class. This time, it's Othello.

It was the second week back at school after the holiday break, and Molly was still getting used to her new class schedule. She still had science with Doctor Watson, and she had another Shakespeare class with Sherlock. Their attendance list had changed somewhat, though. Donovan and Jim were still in class with her, but there were many new faces... all of them bored. She could hardly wait for the final class of the day to roll around on Tuesday and Thursday because it meant that she could spend some extra time with _him_. They had been true to their words about being careful, and, while it was infuriating, it was for the best.

She swept into the classroom (a few minutes early, as always) and took her seat, removing a book from her satchel and cracking it open, trying to keep the almost stupidly giddy smile off of her face. Sherlock was not far behind, granting her his customary, "Good afternoon, Miss Hooper," before settling behind his desk and glancing through his copy of the first play on the curriculum for the class "The Bard: Love Lost and Love Won": Othello.

"Good afternoon, Professor Holmes," she murmured back, her eyes just barely flicking up from her book to meet his before she returned her focus to her reading material, a faint blush now staining her cheeks. She swallowed hard and turned a page. She had to keep in careful control, and it was proving to be a bit more difficult than she thought.

"What are you reading today?"

She flashed a quick smile. " _Dune_ , by Frank Herbert. I've a weakness for good sci-fi," she said.

"Heard of it but never read it. It's not something that ever particularly captured my interest."

"Mm, not everyone likes it. There are some excellent quotes from it, though. My favorite one is a mantra against fear... which... ah," here she made a little embarrassed noise in her throat, "I'll admit, it's helped me out a bit on more than one occasion."

"Inspirational quotes from classical literature will never steer you wrong, Molly," he murmured, glancing at the door. Fifteen seconds later, Jim entered the room and took a seat next to Molly as he had done the past three classes.

She shifted ever so slightly away from the smaller man; he had been nothing but civil to her since their return from break, indifferent, even, but she couldn't forget the veiled threat of the flowers and the feel of his hands around her throat and the winter-cold of the river as he held her under. She swallowed hard and decided that now was a good time to put that quote from Dune into practice. " _I will not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration_..." she thought, keeping her eyes focused on the book in front of her.

"How are you, Kitten?"

"I'm well, thank you. And yourself?" she replied, courteous out of habit.

"Everything is dull as always, though Sebby does tend to brighten my day. He's ever so good with... physical activities." Jim allowed himself a faint smirk as he rifled through his bag for the play.

Molly gripped the book in her hands harder, feeling both angry and miserable. The fact that she had walked in on them still stung, although she was more afraid of him now than she was then. "Of course," she said, again, a polite nothing. The less she had to talk to him, the better.

"Bet you're loving this class," he said offhandedly, eyeing her while appearing to be searching his pockets for a pen. "More time with your favorite professor, eh?"

She couldn't help it; she flinched. Molly said nothing and shrank down a little farther into her seat, a bright flash of hate searing through her for a moment, although it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.

 _Well now, what a curious response_. Jim said nothing more as the rest of the class began traipsing in, only moving to turn in his homework and return to his seat. Molly sighed as she marked her place and put Dune away, taking out Othello. She had never liked it much, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. She had to feel a bit sorry for Othello, being so tricked as he was into thinking that his beloved wife was being unfaithful to him by his supposed best friend. It was a tragedy, through and through.

"If you all with _please_ take your seats and turn to Act Four, we can begin," Sherlock barked.

There was a rustle of movements and pages as the students all got out their copies of Othello and leafed through to the appropriate page. Molly scanned the scenes quickly. She always felt bad for Desdemona; she was so confused by Othello's poor treatment of her, especially when she had done nothing wrong.

"Now, based on the reading you've all done and since you know what I'm going to ask by now, why is Desdemona in her current position?"

Donovan lazily raised her hand. "Because she's an air-headed bint, sir?" she said, smirking.

Sherlock shot her a look of boredom and irritation. "Incorrect. Someone else?"

Molly sighed and raised her hands. Sometimes she felt so frustrated to be one of the only people to be doing any of the work in this classroom. "Because she's been set up by Iago who wants to see Othello's downfall. So he makes it look like Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio to make Othello insane with rage and jealousy."

"And why is that the perfect way to destroy the Moor?"

Jim raised his hand. "The quickest way to destroy someone, Professor, is through the heart. Take away everything that matters and there is nothing left for the person to live for."

Molly couldn't help but swallow hard. She felt as if Jim's hands were around her neck again, the words he had said in answer to Sherlock's question seeming both enough to answer and strangely...pointed. As if...as if he _knew_ about her and Sherlock. She suppressed a shiver. _Don't be silly, Molly_ , she thought, but the idea was still there, lingering in the back of her brain.

"Correct, Mr. Moriarty. In fact, I think you shall read for Iago today. Miss Hooper: Desdemona, and... Donovan: Emilia. On your feet. Come on!"

She rose and walked to the front of the room, dragging her feet more than usual. There was something about this that made her vaguely uncomfortable, but she couldn't let it show. She had to push it away and become Desdemona, who was distraught.

"All right. Miss Hooper, if you would start on line one twenty-five. 'Tis meet I should be used so' and continue until I tell you to stop. And to the rest of you drooling specimens, do try and pay attention. You might actually learn something."

She nodded once and took a breath, let it out before launching into the part. "'Tis meet I should be used so, very meet. How have I been behaved, that he might stick the small'st opinion on my least misuse?"

Jim glanced through the scene before strolling forward to Molly, putting on his best face of concern and care. "What is your pleasure, madam? How is't with you?"

She looked up at him, distress in her face and sadness in her eyes. "I cannot tell. Those that do teach young babes do it with gentle means and easy tasks: He might have chid me so; for, in good faith, I am a child to chiding."

"What is the matter, lady?" Jim was already enjoying playing ignorant

Donovan spoke, hardly putting any feeling into the lines. "Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhored her. Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her, as true hearts cannot bear."

Jim could have smacked her. _At least try, you little cunt,_ he thought.

She looked up at him, almost pleadingly. "Am I that name, Iago?"

"What name, fair lady?" Jim was almost tempted to reach out and stroke the hair back from her face.

"Such as she says my lord did say I was," Molly replied. She let her eyes flit to Sherlock when she said 'my lord'... she needed the mind frame of her character. How would she feel if he thought that she, Molly, were being false? How would she feel if he called her a whore...? A sudden pain lanced through her heart. It was barely a flicker, but Jim caught it, his brain whirring with glee. Such a development, was she truly more than sweet on her professor? All he needed now was for her to break down in the scene and he'd have an in, a way to truly tell. Burn her heart out indeed, he'd do more than that. He'd promised.

Donovan had to hide a smirk. "He called her a whore. A beggar in his drink could not have laid such terms upon his callat."

Putting on his biggest puppy dog eyes that always reduced Sebby to a puddle of begging blonde, Jim looked to Molly. "Why did he so?"

Molly couldn't help it. The thought that if _Sherlock_ had called her a whore, had dismissed her so coldly... she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, and one or two traced a path down her cheeks. "I do not know; I am sure I am none such," she said, her voice breaking slightly.

"Do not weep, do not weep. Alas the day!" Darting forward, Jim dragged a chair into the acting space and sat Molly in it, half kneeling beside her and pulling out his handkerchief, dabbing at the tears that had begun to trickle from the corners of her eyes. Inside, he was screaming with joy. She had even glanced at the Professor again. Oh, there was definitely something going on there that was bigger than just a harmless crush.

Donovan raised an eyebrow. Tears? Actual tears? She felt a pang of pity which she quickly squashed. This was Hooper, after all. _Perfect Princess Teacher's Pet_. "Hath she forsook so many noble matches, her father and her country and her friends, to be call'd whore? Would it not make one weep?"

"It is my wretched fortune," said Molly, letting Jim dry her tears and comfort her.

"Beshrew him for 't. How comes this trick upon him?" The pale boy reached up and stroked her jaw, thumbs wiping away the tears the cloth had missed. Anyone would think that he actually cared for the girl before him.

She closed her eyes. "Nay, heaven doth know," she said softly.

Donovan spoke up, actually sounding indignant. "I will be hang'd, if some eternal villain, some busy and insinuating rogue, some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office, have not devised this slander; I'll be hang'd else."

Jim turned his gaze on her, eyes blazing as he admonished, "Fie, there is no such man. It is impossible."

"If any such there be, heaven pardon him!" Molly said softly, bitterly.

Sally snorted. "A halter pardon him! and hell gnaw his bones! Why should he call her whore? who keeps her company? What place? what time? what form? what likelihood? The Moor's abused by some most villanous knave, some base notorious knave, some scurvy fellow. O heaven, that such companions thou'ldst unfold, and put in every honest hand a whip to lash the rascals naked through the world even from the east to the west!" she railed, pacing.

Jim's eyes narrowed as he took Molly's hand, stroking it to calm her as he shot daggers at Donovan. "Speak within door." _God, how he'd love to bash her brains in._

Donovan glared back at Jim. She had never liked the officious little prick. "O, fie upon them! Some such squire he was that turn'd your wit the seamy side without, and made you to suspect me with the Moor."

"You are a fool. Go to!" He had that right, especially since her character was his wife and he could do as he wanted. She deserved a good slap on the face, but his hands were too busy trying to comfort Molly.

The girl left with a huff, her part in the scene over. Molly looked up at Jim, her eyes pleading. "O good Iago, what shall I do to win my lord again? Good friend, go to him; for, by this light of heaven, I know not how I lost him. Here I kneel: if e'er my will did trespass 'gainst his love, either in discourse of thought or actual deed, or that mine eyes, mine ears, or any sense, delighted them in any other form; or that I do not yet, and ever did. And ever will- though he do shake me off to beggarly divorcement- love him dearly, comfort forswear me! Unkindness may do much; and his unkindness may defeat my life, but never taint my love. I cannot say 'whore:' it does abhor me now I speak the word; to do the act that might the addition earn not the world's mass of vanity could make me."

She was exactly where he wanted her. Standing as she finished speaking, he reached up to touch her cheek. "I pray you be content. 'Tis but his humor. The business of the state does him offense, and he does chide with you."

"If 'twere no other-"

"-It is but so, I warrant." He gave her his warmest smile before kissing the back of her hand. "Hark how these instruments summon to supper. The messengers of Venice stays the meat. Go in and weep not. All things shall be well." _Not if I have anything to say about it_.

Molly wiped her eyes and nodded. That was the scene over; she returned to her seat, feeling decidedly...uneasy, but lulled, somehow. Maybe... just maybe... Jim had forgotten?

"Very well done, all three of you." Sherlock rose from his seat, his gut clenching uncomfortably. He'd caught Molly's gaze twice in that scene; she needed to be more careful. "Now, if you will all take out your notebooks, read through the end of the Act and write up a description of Iago's next plans to finish off his revenge on the Moor. When you are done, hand it in and you will be dismissed."

There was another flurry of movement as notebooks were opened and pens and pencils were set down to paper. Molly was one of the first ones finished but hesitated a moment before turning it in. Finally, when some minutes had passed, she walked up and passed the explanation in. She walked slowly out of the classroom, her mind churning.

Sherlock stayed seated behind his desk for several minutes after the last students had straggled out, mulling over the lesson. Molly had clearly hesitated before turning in her paper, so he pulled it out of the stack, glancing over her top notch explanation before noticing the note scribbled at the bottom.

_The willow, ten pm. Ophelia._

oOoOo

Seb sat sullenly on his bed, broodingly gazing at the blade of his favorite knife, checking it for any nicks and scrapes. He didn't have any classes with Jim this semester, and it was making him twitchier than usual and more than a bit nervous. He had come to care for this young man so much so quickly; he felt a bit like he was being pulled underwater, out of his depth. Not like feeling those things would make him stop, though. He was just too far gone on Jim Moriarty to care.

Jim slammed the door shut behind him before dumping his bag on the ground and throwing himself onto Seb's bed. "Thank fucking _god_ that's over."

Seb raised an eyebrow and quirked his lips into a smirking smile. "Rough day?" he asked, still admiring his knife-blade.

"Tedious, dull, missed you something dreadful," the pale boy drawled, lying down with his legs dangling off the bed and his head in Seb's lap.

He quickly put away the knife. No sense in accidentally cutting Jim or himself if things got frisky. "Missed you too," he said quietly, running his fingers through the fine, dark hair on his lap.

Jim's eyes fluttered shut as he hummed contentedly. "Oooooh, Tiger's got the magic fingers," he murmured.

Seb smirked again and added his other hand, massaging Jim's scalp. "Been told I'm good with my hands," he drawled.

"Brilliant in fact. Wonder who pays you such compliments. Should I be jealous?"

He snorted. "Hardly. You _know_ there's only you," he said somewhat fondly. He bent down and kissed Jim soundly on the mouth. Moaning rather desperately, Jim kissed back as he let his hands run up the side of Seb's face, stroking his cheeks and tangling in the hair at his temples. The blonde purred happily as Jim returned the kiss and dug his hands into his hair. He smiled, feeling actually...  _happy_.

The younger boy licked his lover's tongue before breaking the kiss, smiling up at Seb. "Missed you today, Tiger."

Seb rested his forehead on Jim's, drawing in his scent. "Missed you too, Magpie."

"Anything interesting happen? My day was ever so dull."

"Nothing of interest. Everything is deathly _boring_ without you, my love."

"Awwww, you flatter, Tiger. Although, you might find this interesting. I discovered the most delicious thing about Kitten and that Professor."

"I don't flatter, I speak the truth. And oh? Do tell," he said, grinning.

"It would seem there is more going on with them than a simple, harmless little crush. Perhaps something a bit more...  _intimate_ if you get my drift."

Both of the blonde boy's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Really? Well well well, seems Kitten fancies the older gent. So... what _shall_ we do about this, hm?" he asked. He knew that Jim wasn't going to let this slide, not by a long shot.

"You should have seen the way her eyes flicked to him when she spoke of 'The Moor,'" Jim spat, nuzzling into Seb's rough hand. "It was disgraceful... and yet, just so delightful."

"I bet. But you still haven't answered my question; what are we going to do about this?" he repeated, starting to stroke Jim's forehead and card through his hair again, being surprisingly gentle.

Jim closed his eyes, humming. "It's rather simple... burn the heart out of her, out of him... because the easiest way to destroy someone is through the heart, Tiger."

He felt a shiver run through him. "That is _perfect_. When do we start?"

"Patience, love. There is much planning to do first. How to scare her, put her on edge... or how to win her back over and then strike the blow."

"Can't we do both? Scare her first, then lull her back? Then we strike, and it makes the blow land all the harder."

"But why would we scare her first? She would never trust us again, and although the marks from my fingers have certainly faded, she still remembers them well."

He made a face. "True. And I like the way you phrased it... burn the heart out of them."

"As do I. Quite apt. Now... how about a nice symbol, hmmm? And actual heart on fire? I do love to watch things burn."

Seb's eyes lit up. "Oh _yes_. Pinned to her desk and set alight. A warning to them both."

"Of course, then there is the matter of procuring such an item," Jim mused, rolling his neck slightly and shivering slightly as Seb's fingertips brushed a tender spot on his skull.

He smirked as he ran his fingers over that spot again, prodding it gently as he began to massage Jim's scalp. "Leave that matter to me..." he murmured darkly.

"Mmmmm... magic fingers," moaned Jim, suddenly struck by the image of Seb elbow deep in a corpse retrieving a heart. "Don't stop... feels nice."

The older boy continued, bending down to place a soft kiss to Jim's forehead.

"Should I start calling you Mummy, Sebby?"

He snorted. "Hardly. The last thing I want to do is give you some weird sort of Oedipal complex."

"You're just being such a cuddly kitty."

"Yes, yes... the Tiger can be a Tabby when the mood is right," he said, rolling his eyes.

The pale boy started chuckling before dragging himself up so that he was curled up in Seb's lap, nestled against the larger boy's chest. Seb swallowed. He felt a feeling of protectiveness and love wash over him like a wave, moving his hands from Jim's scalp down to rub circles on his back, tucking the smaller boy's head into the crook of his neck. His other hand was draped around Jim's waist, a bond and a comfort both.

Jim pressed gentle kisses against Seb's neck, his right hand trailing lazily over his lover's chest, drawing pictures and writing words on the skin. "You're like a parent Tiger, Sebby. Am I your cub?"

He sighed. "Hardly. But you _are_ mine. Just as I am _yours_ ," he said quietly. As much as he loved the sex, this was just as nice.

"I like that you're mine. My Tiger, my Sebby. You're so gorgeous, and I never realized just how soft and cuddly you can be."

Seb pulled Jim closer, smirking. "Every hard-ass and tough guy has his soft side."

"Then I just must be lucky then, hmmm?"

"I guess."

"Well, I'm not going to do any work tonight. How's about you help tuck me in and give me a little goodnight snogging, hmmm? I'll even let you hold me as I sleep."

He grinned. "Always," he murmured, turning down the covers and pulling them over them both. He pressed his mouth to Jim's and gave him a firm kiss, bringing his hands up to wind around his lover's shoulders. The smaller boy wrapped his arms around Seb's neck and held him close, his tricky tongue darting out to lick the man's gorgeous mouth.

He moaned and opened his lips to allow Jim access; their tongues danced with each other, Seb's hands reaching up to wind in Jim's hair again. Jim whimpered, curling up against his lover as they continued to kiss lazily. Seb moved his arms again, this time drawing Jim closer to him. He broke the kiss they shared in favor of placing smaller ones along Jim's jaw and cheek, pausing to whisper "I love you..." into his ear.

"Love you back," Jim purred, feeling warm and content, his body positively thrumming. Seb swallowed hard and clutched Jim to him tightly, feeling his heart bang against his ribcage.

"Hey... hey, Tiger, Sebby," Jim murmured, tilting his head up to look at the blonde. "I'm not going anywhere. You're heart is beating like a frightened rabbit. What's wrong?"

"Everyone _always_ leaves..." he muttered, feeling stupidly childlike.

"Sebastian, I'm not everyone."

Forcing himself to calm down, he smiled. "Of course," he said, closing his eyes and burying his face into the skin of Jim's neck, content to simply breathe him in.

Jim raised his hand and stroked his fingers down the side of Seb's face. "You don't believe it."

"Hard to believe it when it's happened all my life," he admitted softly.

"Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?"

"No," he replied, somewhat sullenly.

"Don't sulk. The expression marrs your pretty face. So, if you know I won't be going anywhere, why worry?"

"Force of habit," Seb finally said.

"Well, break it. It's a bad habit for my right hand man to have."

He took a deep breath. "I'll try. For you. Anything."

"Kiss me to seal the deal. You might even get me to sing you to sleep."

Seb kissed Jim, pouring out what he felt like was his soul into it. _Seal the deal indeed_ , he thought as he broke the contact, panting. Jim tilted his head to look at the boy before running his right hand through the blonde curls. "Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around..."

Seb felt his eyes fill with tears, which he hid by burying his face into Jim's skin, feeling the smaller man's voice thrum through him as his hand stroked through his hair.

"Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around. Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays. I'll send them howling, I don't care. I've got ways."

He swallowed hard; he knew what was going to come next and his eyes began to well up more.

"No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare. Others can desert you, not to worry whistle I'll be there." Jim pressed a kiss to Seb's jaw when he paused for air, holding him slightly tighter.

Seb took a shuddering breath and sang before Jim could. "Demons will charm you with a smile, for a while, but in time..."

Jim joined in, finishing the song with him. "Nothing's gonna harm you. Not while I'm around." (1)

Seb sighed, feeling his eyes begin to droop. "I'll hold you to that, you know," he murmured.

Jim continued pressing kisses to the side of Seb's face. "Yes, I do. Just as I will for you."

"Deal."

"Now, go to sleep my Tiger. We get to start plotting in the morning, and I need you sharp and ready to go."

His lips curled into a sleepy smile. "Kay, boss," he said, his voice already slurred by fatigue.

"That's right. Boss has got you. Shhhhh, my sleepy Tiger," Jim crooned, rocking Seb gently.

Within moments, the rocking and the sound of Jim's voice and heartbeat and his breathing lulled Seb into a deep, sweet sleep. Once Jim could tell Seb was out, he wrapped the boy's arms around him and curled up against his chest. "My most precious possession, my perfect Tiger. Sweet dreams." He brushed his lips against the sleeping Seb's before drifting off himself.


	2. Nighttime Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock meets Molly at the willow as per her request

Molly arrived at their tree slightly early as was her habit. She leaned against the old willow, its drooping branches still devoid of leaves in the winter's chill, watching her breath curl and twist in patterns. She stayed well away from the bank of the river, though; it bothered her now. She rested her head against the rough bark, chin tilted up to watch the stars and the clouds scud across the face of the nearly-full moon. Sherlock arrived right at ten, glancing around to make sure they were alone. "Molly?" he whispered, having difficulty seeing even with the light of the moon.

She started when she heard her name whispered and turned swiftly, facing the figure. She could tell who it was from the way his long coat swept near his ankles. "Sherlock..." she murmured, smiling, taking a step towards him.

It was instantaneous, as soon as they touched, Sherlock dragged her in for a deep, searing kiss, holding her as close as possible in the frigid, icy night air. Molly made a strangled noise of surprise as he dragged her into a kiss that she could feel down in her toes. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she felt him pull her as close to him as he could get. She could feel her heartbeat battering against her ribs, and she no longer felt the cold. When they parted, he continued to hold her close. "Why did you need to meet, my fair Ophelia?"

She bit her lip, feeling... decidedly foolish. "I... I just needed to. Especially after the scene today," she said quietly. She felt that she must have sounded like a stupid, lovesick little girl.

"You were imagining me as the Moor, weren't you?"

She nodded, feeling even more idiotic, getting slightly closer to him, letting her forehead rest slightly against the fabric of his coat.

"Molly, you're fine. We're fine." He held her, kissing the top of her head. "He's getting to you, isn't he?"

She shivered. "It's hard for me to say this... but... I... we were together for a long time. He... he knows me, inside and out," she admitted.

"In every sense it would seem. How is today different from last semester? If I didn't know any better, I would think him genuinely concerned about you."

"Because he almost had _me_ convinced that he was concerned for me. And I know for a fact that he's not. That's what makes him so... dangerous, I guess. He can convince anyone of anything. Charm birds from the trees, he could."

"How can I protect you? There has to be some way-"

"I don't know..." she said. "But... please... be _careful_. I couldn't stand to see you get hurt because of me," she said, her eyes and voice pleading.

"I can take care of myself, Molly. I'm just worried that because of who I am, I won't have a good way of keeping you safe."

She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes, searching. "I trust you," she said, sincerely, and she did. She trusted him more than anyone she had ever met, with the exception of her father.

"And what if, just what if something happens, Molly? I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

She pressed her lips against his, sweetly. "You'd be fine, I know you would be."

Sherlock closed his eyes, resting his forehead on hers. "Why us?"

She traced her fingers around the shells of his ears. "If we could answer that, then there would be a lot less to worry about," she said, half-chuckling.

"That's exactly why I'm asking," he murmured, holding her closer

She hesitated, then wound her fingers into his hair. "There is no cosmic force that dictates which two people fall in love. They just...do. And we have fallen for each other, despite all the trouble we have," she replied.

He could feel his knees going weak as he clung to her. "I wish this could be easier for you, that I could make this all better. But we also need a plan for how to deal with Jim. School isn't safe for you anymore."

She shivered again. "I know. But I just can't drop out. That would ruin my work, and, as much as I hate to admit it, people would talk more."

"What do they say already?"

Molly swallowed hard. "Teacher's Pet. Spoiled. Suck-up. Sniveling. Loser. Nerd. Geek. Rich Bitch. Slut. Whore. Cunt," she said, her voice growing quieter with each word.

Sherlock's eyes widened in shock. "I had no idea... oh _Molly_."

She nodded, her eyes suddenly burning with tears as she buried her face into his chest. She thought she had cried herself out, that she had gotten used to those names a while ago. But... telling _him_ what they said... for some reason, it hurt even more. He pressed her to him, not caring that his coat would be damp with her tears. "Let it all out. You don't have to carry any of that around anymore, my fair one."

She let out a shuddering breath as her shoulders shook with quiet sobs. Ever the outcast, ever the loner. And now she really had no one else to turn to. And it just wasn't _fair_. She shook harder, making a soft keening noise as she tried to be silent, her hands fisted into his coat, needing his warmth and his support. Sherlock rubbed circles on her back and placed gentle kisses in her hair. "In my Uni days, I was 'The Freak,'" he murmured. "Not interested in relationships, abrasive, outspoken, difficult, and my ability to see what others did not observe warded off everyone except for John. If I hadn't had him... well, I don't even think my brother would have been able to help me. I'm trying to say that I understand how you must feel right now."

Molly's sobs quieted and she drew away for a moment to wipe her eyes and regain her breath. She knew she must look horrid, but she didn't really care at the moment. She grabbed him and kissed him, pouring out her gratitude, her love, her understanding. When she broke to draw a breath... "Thank you..." she murmured. "Thank you. I... I was so alone, and I owe you so much."

"As do I, Molly Hooper. As do I. I suppose this, at least for me, is a miracle of sorts."

She took hold of him again and this time, instead of a kiss, drew him into a fierce embrace, holding on to him tightly. If he were her anchor, she hoped, at the very least, she could start to be his.

"I love you."

Her heart faltered and skipped, and she wasn't quite sure she heard him correctly. "Wh-what?" she asked quietly. That... that couldn't be right. Her mind and her ears were playing horrible, unfair tricks on her. They had to be.

He wasn't sure what he'd just said... no, that was a lie, he just didn't want to admit that he, Sherlock Holmes of all people had just said... "I love you."

She drew back to look him full in the face, her eyes shining, her body very nearly glowing. "Oh," she said, her smile slowly spreading. "Well. That's... that's good. Because... because I love you, too," she said.

He felt his face flush. "I don't know what _I_ did to deserve it, but... thank you."

She let out a soft chuckle. "You're _you_. That's what you did to deserve it. And you, my sweet prince, my Hamlet, my _Sherlock_... are most welcome," she stated, before gently pressing her mouth to his.

He breathed in two lungfulls of chilly air through his nose as he kissed her back; they hadn't been this close since the day in the woods at the end of break, and he hadn't realized just how much he had missed being with her. Molly broke for a quick breath and because she had something more to say. "And thank you... for loving me. I have no idea _why_ you do, but thank you anyway," she said, before kissing each corner of his mouth lightly.

"I'll tell you why," he whispered. "You're clever-" kiss to the forehead "-kind-" kiss to the nose "-talented-" one eyelid "-compassionate-" the other eyelid "-beautiful-" her right cheek "-honest-" her left cheek "-and just simply wonderful" he finished, and he claimed her mouth, leaning against the tree as he kissed her. She was half-breathless when he reached her mouth, arching into him as he pressed her against the tree behind her. She clasped her hands around the back of his neck, her fingers tracing idle patterns against his skin as they kissed.

His questioning tongue thoroughly explored her mouth as he swallowed her sound, the simple stimulation of the nerves in his lips causing his entire body to heat until he could no longer feel the cold. Molly moaned into his mouth as their tongues twined. He tasted wonderful, and she had to press back the sudden flare of want that ignited in her. She knew that he wasn't ready still, and that it would make him uncomfortable if she pressed farther. She would wait for him to take the lead, and she would guide him when the time came. After a few more moments, he broke the kiss, breathing heavily and trying to get his body back under his control. "You really are quite good at that." He tried his best not to think about how she'd learned.

"So are you... you're a natural," she said, between panting breaths, her thumbs rubbing along his cheekbones. She tucked her fingers into a few wayward midnight curls, loving how he reacted at it.

He leaned into her fingers like a cat, humming softly in the back of his throat. "I just learn from you, figure out what makes you happy," he shrugged.

She let her lips quirk into a half-smile. "And I learn from _you_. Like how this makes your knees weak," she murmured, moving her fingers along his scalp from his hairline to the nape of his neck, down to trace around the base of his throat.

"Oh dear Christ," he groaned, throwing one arm out to rest against the tree as his knees nearly gave. She smirked before pressing her lips to the hollow of his throat, drawing in the scent of his skin before darting out her tongue daringly to taste it.

Now his legs did give out, dropping the professor to the ground. "Not... fair..."

Her eyes fairly glowed as she saw him sink to his knees. She joined him, so that there wouldn't be such a height difference. "Life, unsurprisingly, is never fair," she said before swooping in to press more kisses along his jaw.

He started trembling, a thousand different sensations pouring through him. "M-M-Molly..."

"Hm?" she queried against his skin, feeling her heart beat going a mile a minute.

"That feels...  _amazing_."

The girl let out a slight chuckle. "And what about this?" she asked, her mouth moving from his jaw, to his pulse-point on his neck. Again, her tongue darted out to taste his skin there.

The felt a stab of desire burn through him. "E-even better," he whimpered

She shuddered. " _Good_ ," she said, her voice slightly hoarse with want. She moved her mouth from one side of his neck to the other side, repeating the process before pulling back to regard him, her eyes large in her face.

"What is this... this... these feelings? How do you _cope_ with it?" Sherlock whispered, his voice much lower than usual

Molly let out a breathy chuckle. "This is called _want_ , my love. And... well... to cope with it, especially with the person who's the cause of it, you usually... ah... act on it. Or, if there's no way you can with the other person... then you... -ahem- act on it by yourself," she said, her face turning red in her explanation.

Sherlock flushed crimson. "I- you- that is- well then..."

She chuckled again and pressed another kiss to his skin. "Don't worry... I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do. Whatever you're comfortable with," she said softly.

"I feel like I'm about to explode, Molly."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Then... what do you _need_?" she asked.

"I don't know..." His trousers were uncomfortably tight and he shifted on the ground, trying to relieve some of the pressure; it didn't help.

Molly took a breath and tried to still the rapid almost rabbit-like beating of her heart as she somehow managed to say the next words without dying. "Well... I could... ah... leave you to take care of yourself or..." here she took a breath and tried to cool off her face "or... I... I could...  _help_ you with it."

Impulsively, he grabbed the back of her head and crushed their lips together. "I don't know what to do...  _help me_."

When she managed to free her lips from his, she looked into his eyes, his pupils blown out so that there was almost no color left in them. "All right," she murmured, trailing a hand down his chest to the front of his trousers. She paused, then she cupped his length through the straining fabric of his clothes.

Sherlock groaned, his mouth drying out faster than he could believe. "Oh God... oh my God."

She bit her lip as she undid his belt, opened the button and lowered the zip. She reached one hand inside and, pushing the cloth of his pants out of the way, touched _him_ , skin to skin. She had to cross her ankles immediately to stifle the flare of desire that just raged through her. He was so _hot_ , so hard. And it was all for (and because of) her. His eyes were so wide that they nearly bulged out of his head before they fell shut, the man leaning forward and pressing his head to Molly's. "Ohplease _move_ ," he begged, needing more, needing anything.

She did, moving her hand up and down his length with smooth, firm strokes, her thumb running around the tip of him occasionally. Both of their breathing grew ragged, and she found herself nearly whimpering from how much she wanted him. The pale man felt his eyes roll back as desire and fire pooled in his gut, and before he could say anything in warning, he felt everything tense before exploding in light and color, whimpering her name as he shuddered and came. She started as he came with a jolt, spilling over her hand. She wiped his release on the ground  and helped clean him up and tuck him away before she squirmed slightly. She was so aroused that it nearly hurt.

Sherlock felt dazed as he opened his eyes, slightly dizzy from the overwhelming sensations. "I- I- thank you, I think. no, I know. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, breathless, as she squirmed again. Oh, it was going to be an interesting walk back to her dorm room...

He wobbled to his feet and pulled her up with him. "Be careful going back."

She drew him in for another smoldering kiss. "I will. I'll have something to... ah... take care of, though," she murmured.

"Will you be all right?"

She nearly laughed. "Oh, I'll be _just_ fine. You beautiful, wonderful man... I need to... ah... take care of myself, after that," she elaborated, feeling less self-conscious around him after what had just occurred.

He nodded until he understood, embarrassment flooding him. " _Oh_. I'll- ah- let you get to that, then."

She gave him one last, slow, lingering kiss. "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too," he replied before letting her go, watching her return to the dorms before setting off for his office.


	3. Howl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I howl when we're apart, drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart..."
> 
> (We had a moment in writing this chapter where we thought this song by Florence + The Machine worked perfectly.)

Seb awoke bright and early the next morning, smiling to find Jim curled tightly around him. He stretched, feeling his shoulders and other joints pop, rolling his neck and hearing the vertebrae crack. He took a deep breath and let it out, content, before pressing a kiss to the dark head that was nestled beside him. "Good morning, my love," he murmured into Jim's hair.

The pale boy twitched in his sleep, nuzzling closer to the blonde and planting a sloppy, wet kiss to his chest, mumbling incoherently. Seb allowed a deep chuckle to rumble through his chest as Jim pressed a decidedly wet kiss there. "C'mon... up. You wanted me to wake you as soon as I was up so you could plan, O Great Mastermind," he said, gently prodding the smaller boy before running his fingers through the mussed hair, making Jim look something like a cockatoo from the way it stood on end.

"G'way... lemmesleep..." Jim mumbled, batting feebly at Seb's hands in his hair.

"No... you _told_ me to wake you as soon as I was up," he said a bit more firmly, running his fingertips down Jim's sides where he knew he was ticklish.

"EEK! CUTTHATOUT!" Jim yelped, eyes snapping open as he squirmed and thrashed against Seb's invading fingers

Seb threw back his head and laughed. "'Eek?' Oh, that's rich," he said between chuckles. "And good morning, my Magpie."

The smaller boy glared up at Seb, baring his teeth in a snarl. "You'll regret that," he growled.

Seb raised his eyebrows. "What? You were the one who _told_ me to wake you up. And you don't wake up when I shake you. Tickling is better than dumping your short arse out of bed," he said.

Very slowly, Jim rolled over and crawled up onto Seb's chest so he could stare into the boy's eyes. "Then set an alarm, and don't you dare call me _short_ , Tiger."

"Alarms are too shrill. And fine," he said, lips curling into a smile as Jim stared into his eyes, Seb's blue meeting his lover's brown.

"You're going to do it again, I can see it in your eyes, you moron."

He grinned. "Yeah, you're right," he said, darting his fingers to the smaller boy's sensitive skin again for a brief attack before relenting. Jim twisted in Seb's grip, trying to fight back, but he was gasping for breath before he collapsed on his lover's muscled stomach; he sunk his teeth into the skin under his mouth in retaliation.

"GAH! MOTHERFUCKER, THAT _HURTS_!" Seb roared.

Brown eyes gleamed up at burning blue ones. "Then _do_ something about it."

Seb snarled and dragged Jim up to him, sinking his own teeth into the skin of Jim's shoulder. He growled low in his throat as he bit down, feeling the noise go through him like a truck's engine idling. Jim barely flinched, though he bit his lip until it bled before dragging the wound all over Seb's face, painting it with thin lines of his blood. The bigger boy released his hold on Jim to claim his mouth, lapping the blood from the broken skin of his lip up with great relish. When he finally could feel them both begin to lose oxygen, he broke the kiss, panting.

Jim was slightly cross-eyed from the kiss, taking a few deep breaths before diving back in to plunder and ravish Seb's mouth. The sweet kisses the night before had been lovely, but they had done nothing to alleviate the desire in his gut. Seb could feel them both growing hard. Last night's sweetness was uncharacteristic of him, almost, and his body was demanding attention now. He ground his hips into Jim's as the smaller boy claimed his mouth again.

Jim moaned, the sound more of an Irish-sounding rumble of pleasure as he moved against the larger boy. "What to do with you today..."

"Don't care... I just want you..." he panted back, arching into Jim more.

"Then give yourself to me, Sebby. I'll grant you a 'Do whatever you want' good for one day only."

Seb grinned ferally and rolled, pinning Jim beneath him. " _Good_ ," he said darkly, before dipping his head to mark Jim's throat where it would be hidden by the collar of his shirt, biting and sucking the sensitive skin there.

"Yes Tiger... mark me... make the others _jealous-_ "

He made a sort of growling purr as he moved to the other side of Jim's neck and repeated the process. "Damn right they'd be jealous. they don't have _you_ ," he murmured into Jim's skin.

Swollen lips moaned as Jim felt his skin begin to bruise. "The very best for me... always you."

Seb made a pleased sound as he trailed his way to the hollow of Jim's throat, dipping his tongue there before going right up his neck to kiss and nip at his jaw and earlobe. He ground against Jim, his sleep pants almost painfully tight now.

"I love your tongue, Tiger... hot and just a bit rough on my perfect skin... I love your mouth, sinful and hot and  _gorgeous_ when kiss stung... I love your eyes, how they burn for me..."

He felt a shiver run up the length of his spine and settle there for a bit. "I love the way your mind works, Magpie. The way you can utterly destroy someone using your words. I love the way you feel, snuggled up against me and stretched around me. I love the way you love me."

Jim raised an eyebrow. "Stretched around you? I think that can be arranged."

Seb's eyes fairly glowed and his teeth showed in a feral grin. He quickly retrieved the condoms and lube from the nearby table and stripped them both bare in seconds, his hand going to stroke Jim as the other tore open a condom and rolled it over his own aching length. Toes curling and eyes hooded with lust, Jim smirked faintly at the older boy, at his eagerness to jump his bones. "That's right, Sebby. I want you to own me today, remind me of the _power_ you held over me before and how much I _loved_ it."

He nearly groaned. "You want me to _own_ you? Your wish is my every command, my love. Except today. Today... it's _mine_ ," he said, removing his hand from Jim's length and slicking up his fingers before sliding them inside of him.

Jim sighed, swallowing his whimpers as he rocked down on the intrusive, tricky, calloused fingers that were working him open. Seb curled his fingers just so, in the way he knew that drove Jim crazy, dragging them inside of him, twisting them before thrusting them deeper. The boy's head thrashed against the pillow as he screwed up his face, fighting the urge to let the noises out, wanting Seb to have to earn them from him. The blonde smirked. So he was being difficult today, was he...? He went deeper, brushing against Jim's prostate as he dipped his head and caught one of his lover's nipples in his teeth, laving it with his tongue and tugging on it slightly.

Jim's face went completely slack. "Oh dear god..."

Seb chuckled as he slowly withdrew his fingers and replaced them with his cock, just barely breaching him. "D'you want this?" he murmured, dragging his teeth over the skin that hid Jim's heart.

Jim's fingers stroked their way through the matted blond curls of the other boy's head. "You know I do, my Tiger," he purred.

He smirked and withdrew. "Oooh, too bad, then," he said, mock-sadness in his voice as he took Jim's wrists and pinned them to the bed.

Relaxed muscles twitched as Jim's brow furrowed and his eyes darkened. "Sebastian-"

"You _said_ I could do as I liked. And right now, I like _denying_ you."

"You're a bloody teasing arse bandit is what you are."

"Like you haven't done the same to me. Turnabout is fair play, my love."

"What do you want, then? I'm hard and horny and want you, but that can easily change... you know how changeable I am, Tiger."

"Yes, yes, I know. But what I'm trying to say is don't dish it out if you can't-" then he pressed himself into Jim, sliding home to the hilt with one smooth thrust, "take it," he purred into Jim's ear before he ran his tongue around the outer curve of it.

He couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips, his body trembling slightly as Sebastian filled him. "Ohmygod, _Sebbylove_ -"

"Mmmmmm...  _yes_ ," Seb said with a purr and a sigh. He waited for a long, agonizing moment before he began to thrust slowly, rolling his hips.

Sweet, blissful, hot, aching torture, Jim just lying there and letting Seb do as he liked with his body was so difficult and rewarding at the same time. He treated the fighter to a glimpse of him slackjawed and relaxed, taking everything he was given without complaint...completely vulnerable. Seb released Jim's wrists so he could run his hands down his skin as he sped his thrusts, gentle touches to ground and sensitize him. He barely ghosted his fingers over his lover's length and arched and groaned into the smaller boy under him, admiring his relaxed face as he never had seen him like this before. He bent his head again and claimed Jim's mouth in another kiss, never stopping the movement of his hips.

Jim kissed back almost lazily as he closed his eyes and rocked down against Sebastian, each stimulation of his prostate sending shivers through his body. He panted "Yes... oh yes..." into Seb's mouth through the kisses and caresses.

"Nnnh... love you, James... love you so much," Seb gasped back as he moved faster, feeling them both hurtling towards the edge.

"T-touch me...  _please,_ " Jim whispered, his lips breaking the kiss in favor of brushing against Seb's cheek and jaw, the thrusts disrupting his even breathing and making him pant and keen. Seb did as Jim begged him to, one hand going to his lover's cock and stroking in time with his thrusts. Now faster, now slower, until he went over the limit and came with a shudder and a groan of Jim's name. Pale fingers stroked and caressed Seb's hair as the blonde came down from his high. Jim smiled as he watched Seb slowly pull out and take care of the condom. "Still need a bit of help, my Tiger," he purred, one of his hands cupping his weeping arousal.

Seb grinned. "Oh, I know," he murmured. He kissed his way down Jim's chest, down his abdomen, moving lower to take his cock in his mouth.

"OhyespleaseIwantthat, Sebby!"

He chuckled around his mouthful and took as much of Jim as he could, moving his tongue around the almost hyper-sensitive head as he set up a slick rhythm. Jim's grip in the blonde curls tightened significantly as he arched his neck against the pillows, gasping for breath. "Close... oh Tiger... so close..."

Using the remains of the lube that was still there, Seb worked two fingers into Jim once more, driving them deep and stroking against his prostate. Three seconds of this had Jim shrieking and coming hard, tears of ecstasy trickling from his eyes as he writhed and squirmed.

Seb swallowed what Jim gave him and cleaned him off with his tongue, feeling the muscles of his arse contract around his fingers as he slowly slid them out. He smirked, quite pleased with himself, as Jim was trying to come back to his normal self after his petite mort.

"Perfection..." the boy breathed, feeling like he was floating a few feet above his own head. "Sebby... perfection... my Tiger..."

He pressed afterglow kisses all the way up his lover's abdomen, up to his chest, up his neck and jaw and around his ear to claim his mouth, letting Jim taste himself on his tongue. The taste was unique and exquisite, the perfect mixture of them both. Jim held Seb tightly to him as they snogged in their post-coital haze. "Gonna need a human heart...and belladonna roots," he murmured after a few minutes.

Seb raised an eyebrow. "You focus on your plans, leave the heart to me. And... nightshade? I think I see what you're planning."

"Well, well, I must say, never thought someone could continue to surprise me. Wherever did you learn that name for it, 'Bastian?"

"Mum was a florist, remember? I learned the names of plants. Not stupid, Jimmy."

"Forgive me. Never seem to be able to picture you in a florist apron arranging bouquets."

Seb laughed so hard he nearly choked. "You _git_. I never said that I _wanted_ to be a florist. I just learned the names of the things she worked with."

"But I bet you worked there after school. Mummy's little helper."

"Yeah. I'd sweep up the cuttings and dump them in the rubbish, fetch and carry for her. What of it?"

"Dunno, was kind of enjoying the image of little blonde you running around among the flowers. Almost makes me wish I could have known you then," Jim said with a shrug.

Seb swallowed hard. "Yeah... wish I could have known you then, too."

"Why?"

"'Cause that way, neither of us would have been alone."

Jim nipped at Seb's tan nose before burying his face in his neck. "Come back to me. You're going away again in your head, I can see it."

He wrinkled his nose and snapped back to himself. "I'm sorry, m'love," he murmured, wrapping his arms around Jim and holding him close, breathing in their mixed scents and smiling at it.

"So, I think we can wait on the heart, won't need that for a while yet. Got to scope out her and the professor first until I'm truly sure. Nightshade for her tea, though, that will take some doing. And of course, have to get back in her good favors again."

Seb scowled. "I don't like that," he said petulantly like child who didn't want to share his favorite plaything.

"Don't like what?"

"That you're going to be back with...  _her_. Even temporarily. Because you're _mine_. Not hers, _mine_."

The vehemence in Seb's voice makes the younger boy shiver slightly. "I said good graces, you dung brain. Just getting on her good side, nothing more. I plan to finish the job this time."

He blinked. "Oh, good," he said, feeling much more at ease.

"You thought I was going to start shagging her again? Ugh, _god_ no. You must be thicker than I thought. I just need her to trust me again is all, enough to take her out for an innocent cuppa."

"In public? _Daring_ , Jim. Very daring."

"But I'll be the one to disappear. Watch her die from afar. Little chit won't wake up again and then we'll be free, just you and me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as with the plays we chose for the Fall Semester, the Spring plays will have significance as well. For those of you who do not know, the character of Iago in Othello has many, many moments where he essentially says to the audience, "Okay. Here's what I'm gonna do. Watch as I sneak away and let it happen, and then I'll come back and tell you my next plan." I thought this reminded me a great deal of Jim, and that the parallel would be an interesting one to explore.
> 
> Here ends today's lesson.


	4. Apologies, Drinks, and Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving on to Twelfth Night, Jim starts to put his plan into action, and Sherlock battles with his mind as to what to do about Molly.

Nearly three weeks had gone by since their meeting by the willow; it was too risky to try and meet in person again, and Molly was itching to see him outside of the classroom. Thankfully, they had finished with Othello and were now working through Twelfth Night, a comedy that was much more lighthearted than the tale of vengeance, betrayal and misunderstandings of the gravest order. They had been assigned to read Act One, scenes four and five for homework to be discussed in class. Molly felt her heart go out to Viola/Cesario, talking to the Duke and wooing Olivia on his behalf when _she_ loved him. Jim was already in his desk when Molly walked in and, fully ready to implement his plans, waved her over. "Afternoon, Molly," he said, smiling at her

She eyed him cautiously as she walked over. "Good afternoon, Jim," she said.

"How's your week been?"

She sat next to him. "Fine, thank you. And yours?"

"Not too shabby. Dull as ever, but I find this class tends to brighten things up a bit."

She raised one eyebrow. "Really... well, I forgot, you love Shakespeare as much as I do."

"That I do. Most people don't have the true appreciation required for his work, but you do. It was-  _is_ one of the things I like about you, Molly."

Now both of her eyebrows went up. "Thank you..." she said hesitantly. Was... was he trying to make up with her?

Jim glanced down at his hands on his desk and worried his upper lip. "Look, Molly... I wanted to say that I'm-I'm sorry for how things ended between us. I was having such a rough time with everything and couldn't figure out how to handle your rejection and I overreacted so, do you think that perhaps... we could start over? As friends?"

She looked at Jim warily. Her brain was screaming _NO_! with big flashing letters, but her heart, soft thing that it was, was coaxing 'Come on, he _was_ going through a rough time...' After a long moment of deliberation, and against her better judgment, she nodded. "Sure. As friends," she said softly.

He offered his hand. "I was really worried you wouldn't want to."

She took it, her grip firm. "I... almost said no. But... I... it's weird, but I guess I understand," she said. She was slightly confused, but willing to give him another chance.

"I was wondering if you'd like to study with me. Seb isn't in any of my classes, and it's hopeless trying to get any work done around him because he's a terrible influence. I know you'd help keep me focused and on track." He gives her a tentative half smile that reaches his eyes.

Molly laughed at that. "Yeah, of course I'll study with you. Not like you need my help, but I won't be a...  _distraction_ at least," she said, smiling genuinely. She felt a lot more at ease around him now.

Sherlock swept into the classroom to finish his preparations only to see Molly and Jim sitting in the back of the room, heads almost together and laughing with each other. Something sparked in his chest that he later ascribed as a feeling akin to jealousy, even possessiveness, but in that moment, his vision was tinged with red, wanting so strongly for Molly to be laughing for him that he almost forgot what he was supposed to be doing. "Afternoon Mr. Moriarty, Miss Hooper."

She started. "Afternoon, Professor Holmes." She took out her copy of the play and started leafing through to find the scene they'd be discussing for the day. "Like this better than Othello," she said to Jim quietly as she scanned down the page, the other students beginning to drift into the classroom and take their seats.

"Afternoon, Professor," Jim replied before fishing out his own copy. "I don't know, Othello was interesting and political and a great deal about revenge, but this one is certainly quite complex. I'm sure the rest of them are having trouble keeping up."

Molly couldn't help but smile a bit smugly. "Yeah, bet they are," she said. Then she felt bad. "Wow, now I feel nasty. I'm sure they're doing the best they can," she amended, as she watched the rest of the class finally sit down.

"I suppose, but then again, they just don't seem to have that spark for this class or work that you or I do. No wonder we get the top marks."

She made a small noise of assent. "Not everyone is as...  _fond_ of Shakespeare as you and I are."

"Isn't that the truth," he murmured as the rest of the class took their seats.

"Now that you all have had two days to do your reading and I'm positive that only two of you have completed and understood it, would anyone like to start off our discussion by explaining the irony behind the Duke's request of Cesario?"

There was silence, broken only by sniffles and the occasional cough. Molly could practically _hear_ Jim rolling his eyes. She raised her hand. "It's ironic because Viola, who is disguises as Cesario, is in love with the Duke herself, and he has just asked her to go woo Olivia on his behalf. It's a request that cuts her to the quick because she knows that without the disguise, the Duke would never so much as glance at her. But as Cesario, she can talk to him, get closer to him than she ever could as Viola."

"Excellent response," Sherlock replied, pacing at the front of the room. "Now, show of hands, who found Viola's wooing of Olivia to be amusing?"

Molly and Jim raised their hands, along with a surprising other half of the class, comprised with some sniggers in the background.

"Anyone who has something he or she would like to say may as well because the titters in this room are growing rather ridiculous, and it would be no trouble for me to write you all up and send you to the Headmaster. Are we clear?"

The classroom quickly hushed. Molly was a bit surprised. He was more... on edge than usual, it seemed.

"That's better. Now, would someone else care to enlighten us as to why that scene reads as an amusing one?"

"'Cause everyone is so bloody _oblivious_. It's becoming... not a love triangle, but... a love pentagon. Or something like that," said Donovan from one corner. Jim had to fight back a snigger at the girl's answer.

"Not as eloquent as some responses, but Miss Donovan has managed to grasp the main point of that scene. Sir Andrew is courting Olivia for himself, Viola is courting Olivia for the Duke, yet Viola wishes she could court Orsino herself. This is very typical to the nature of complexity and subplots found in Shakespeare's work."

Molly let her lips quirk into a smile. She so loved the intricacy of the work that was Shakespeare's plays. Then her brain gave her an idea... a brilliant, amazing idea. If it wasn't safe to meet Sherlock as Molly... then it would be safer to meet him as...  _Matthew_.

"Now, you are all aware that next week will be when we have our halfway exam on the play, so your reading work is to have finished up through Act Three. For the rest of class today, I would like you to pair off and work through the wooing scene, translating it into the vernacular and identifying moments that can be construed as deliberately humorous or intended to increase the complexity of the relationships. Pay special attention to moments where Olivia appears to be throwing herself after Cesario. If you finish before time is up, you may hand it in. If not, it is due first thing on Tuesday."

Molly glanced around, seeing if anyone would care to partner with her, and she was ignored, same as always. She sighed. "Ah... sorry if this is awkward, but... would you be my partner, please?" she asked Jim apologetically.

"I would rather like to be your partner, Molly," Jim said with a smile, moving his desk so that it was closer to hers.

"Oh, thanks! You're a lifesaver, Jim," she said gratefully, moving her desk so it was flush against his. "Where do you want to start?"

"We ought to start with the beginning of the scene: 'The honorable lady of the house,'" and all that. Perhaps you could do Viola and I'll do Olivia and we'll combine our answers? It would certainly go faster."

"Fine by me," she said, and they set to work.

oOoOo

The assignment went very quickly, and both Molly and Jim were the first ones finished, handing in their work and leaving the class together. "So, where are you off to for the rest of the evening?"

"Oh, just back to my room, doing homework. That dull sort of thing," she said. "You?"

"I'm sure Seb will insist I eat something and then I hadn't planned on doing anything else." An outright lie as he wanted his boyfriend so bad he couldn't stand it.

Molly noted the gleam in his eye when he mentioned Seb. "Ah, I see. I'm sure you miss... hanging out with him, since he isn't in any of your classes, so I guess I'll see you around," she said.

"Should we plan to study on Monday before Tuesday's exam?"

"That sounds like a plan to me! Seven all right for you? Our usual spot in the library?" she asked.

"Wouldn't dream of missing it. I'll see you then, Molly." He leaned in and gave her a very gentle kiss on the cheek. "I am very sorry," he whispered before turning and hurrying off back to his room

She started as he placed a kiss on her cheek, one so gentle that she barely felt it. She stood, stock-still, in the hallway. He had even apologized again. "Well..." she said, too surprised to say much of anything else before she shook herself and continued on her way. She had other plans to be setting into motion as well.

oOoOo

Once the last student had left the room, Sherlock relaxed back into his chair with a heavy sigh. Running his hands through his hair, he turned his eyes on the stack of papers on his desk. More to grade. Lovely. He was finishing putting his things in his briefcase when there was a knock at the classroom door.

"Sherlock! You in?" John called. With any luck, his friend would be there. He had a habit of running out and not telling anyone where he was going, but the doctor figured that as he had just finished a class, he would still be in.

The professor's head jerked up. "John," he breathed, relieved and happy to see his friend. "It's been too long again."

The shorter man grinned. "Tell me about it! Although it's my fault this time..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Mary _had_ moved in with him, and he was more eager to get home after work than usual.

"Living with her suits you. You've put on a few pounds since I saw you last."

John glared, then raised an eyebrow as he looked Sherlock up and down. "And you, apparently, have been eating more as well. You don't look as... gaunt," he said. "So, who is she? Or he."

"Who?" Sherlock asked carefully, snapping his briefcase shut and checking that the windows in the room are shut before locking up.

"Whoever you're seeing. I don't ever recall you being this...  _healthy_ looking. And you have a gleam in your eye," John said as he watched Sherlock lock up his classroom.

"I have no idea what you mean, John," Sherlock said as he shut the door behind them. "Fancy a pint before you head home? Spend some time with your best friend before returning to your girlfriend?"

 _Oh, Sherlock Holmes, you are a liar,_  John thought. "A pint with my best mate would be lovely," he said aloud, grinning broadly.

"Marvelous. Meet you out front in ten? I have to retrieve a few things from my office."

"All right," John said, and he wandered off.

Sherlock hurried back down the corridor to retrieve his coat and another stack of ungraded papers before turning towards the front of the school.

"Took you long enough," John said good-naturedly as he saw Sherlock come sweeping out of the building in his long, dark coat. "Any place in particular you wanna go?"

"As ever, I trust our location to your more than capable hands, John."

"There's this place I've been going to, a bit out of the way, but I love it. Called 'The Ivy Bush', and it's actually one of my favorite places now. Very homey," he said as they walked towards his car. (1)

"If you insist."

"Oh, I think you'll like it! They even have a live band. Great stuff, lots of fiddles, flutes and drums," he continued, as they made their way to the bar. It really had been too long since he had gone out for a drink with his friend.

oOoOo

"So, how have all of your classes been so far?"

"Fine, fine! Been more careful around scalpels this time around," John said, chuckling and admiring the barely-there scar across his thumb now, a reminder of how he had met Mary; she had done her work well. "This bunch doesn't seem as squeamish as the last. And your classes? More tolerable or less so?"

"Less, unfortunately. This lot seems even dimmer than the last. I truly think that academia is my calling instead of teaching. I can't wait for Mycroft to return so he can take it all back. Poncy git," Sherlock added under his breath as he took another sip of his drink

John spluttered into his pint, laughing. "Sorry, mate. That's the way these things go, sometimes. Did you at least rid yourself of Anderson? That would make it a little more bearable, I think..."

"Yes, him and that awful Moran boy. Retained Mr. Moriarty, Miss Donovan, and Miss Hooper, though."

 _Ah. So Molly was still in his classes, despite the events of last term. Good on her_. "Well, at least you kept your star pupils," he said before taking a deep pull at his mug of lager.

"Indeed. Donovan is outspoken and crude, but she is rather bright I have to admit. And the other two are still top of the class. It even looked like they were making up over the break-up of last term this afternoon."

John watched as something flickered across Sherlock's eyes. It looked like... jealousy? No... no, that couldn't be right. "Good! Glad that they're getting back together, then."

"Yes..." Sherlock murmured, shoving his thoughts and feelings back into his mind palace and smiling at John. "So, are you still planning to ask her at the end of term?"

He flushed a bright red. "I was... actually, planning on it for the first day of summer," he said, his lips quirking into a soft smile. He really did love Mary, and life was amazing with her in it.

"Well then, an early congratulations from me to you," Sherlock said, toasting John

He beamed. "Cheers," he said, raising his glass and clanking it against Sherlock's. "To finding happiness, wherever we may be."

"Wherever we may be," Sherlock repeated, finishing his pint and signaling for another round.

oOoOo

Sherlock stumbled back to his flat a bit more unsteady than he'd initially thought; he would seriously have to re-think his body's limit on alcohol after drinking with John...who had known about him. Somehow, he'd known there was someone in Sherlock's life that he cared about. How? Was it written on his face? No, a quick glance in the mirror told him that. He knew Mycroft would be able to tell, and he supposed it made sense for John to as well since he knew Sherlock better than anyone...but it was unsettling and more than a bit unnerving.

He stubbed his toe on the coffee table as he flopped down on the sofa. The furniture in the room was swimming in and out of focus; clearly he was far more drunk than he realized. Needed to store that in his mind palace. Perhaps...

Sherlock slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position and let his eyes drift out of focus as he searched for that place in his brain. _What would John say if he told him about Molly_?

"He'd probably tell you that this was a heinously bad idea and that you're out of your mind. Not to mention that you'd lose your job and go to prison. AND Lestrade would kill you," an image of Molly said, smiling her little smile at him as she rested comfortably against a wall in the palace that occupied Sherlock's brain.

He blinked a few times. "What the hell is _wrong_ with me?"

"Quite simple. The first thing is that you're inebriated... John can drink you under the table. He's had more practice at it. The second thing is that, under the subsequent influence of alcohol, you are less guarded. And the third thing is that you love me, after all this time of forgoing romantic attachments," the Molly image said, her smile growing wider and fonder. "Not to mention the last time we met was your first sexual experience," she added, arching an eyebrow, the smile now growing wicked.

"Remind me to never drink with John again unless I've built up a tolerance," Sherlock groaned, sinking down on the sofa. "And yes, I do love Molly and it's not like I haven't... wanked before, but- this was different. I can't get it out of my head."

"Your first sexual experience with a partner involved. One that is also occupying a great deal of your thoughts nowadays," she clarified, wandering around now, sitting herself down on a sort of divan that had popped up in his mind palace, lounging comfortably on it. "And," she added, "your first sexual experience with someone who wants you as badly as you want _them_."

"Here I am, certifiably a genius, generally regarded as a sociopath, and yet I cannot seem to grasp or understand any of this. Of love, of sex, none of it."

"Which is why you need her help, as much as you loathe to ask for it," the image said patiently. "She's better at this sort of thing than you are. Obviously."

"Not better. More... experienced."

"No, better. Better at understanding. Better at explaining. Better at love and, by extension, better at sex. Although, judging by her reactions down by the willow, she's very responsive to your... attempts," the image said, smirking.

"I'm not even trying. It's infuriating, feeling like I'm no good, like I can't grasp something that everyone else seems to understand. Is this how my students feel?!"

"Right in one," she said sagely, nodding. "Hard to keep up with your professor, who is a certifiable genius."

Sherlock dropped his head into his hands and sighed. "I can hardly wait for the year to end so I can go back to my books."

"Yes... but do you really want to leave _her_ as well?"

"It would be better and certainly safer if I did."

"That's not what the question was. Do you _want_ to leave her?"

"If I'm being honest? Then no. No I don't want to, and the simple fact that I can even think that when I'm endangering her is ridiculous and immature and selfish."

"Yes, but that's what love can be. Ridiculous and immature and selfish. You've seen how John is with Mary, how possessive he is of her. And remember what you felt earlier today, when she was talking with Moriarty, laughing with him. You wanted blood after that..."

"I'm still not sure what that was."

"It's elementary. You _want_ her. And you want _her_ to want only _you_. Seeing her laughing with another man, possibly repairing the relationship with her ex-boyfriend...you didn't like that. Not at all. You want her to only laugh for you, only smile for _you_. You want her to be yours, in every. Single. Way. That's what that was."

"And what if we move forward with this relationship? What if we're discovered? I'm not going to be the one to destroy her life."

"As much as it pains us to say it, no, it won't be entirely your fault. It's half of hers, as well. She knows the risks just as well as you do," the image said, slightly sad.

"I still won't be the reason. She's doing it for me."

"Is she? You said so yourself, you feel selfish. Bet she does too."

"I'm not good for her, all right?"

"And what makes you say that?"

"Because of who I am. What I am. Too old for her, not right for her-"

"Does she really think that? If she thought that, she'd have never kissed you."

"Love addles the mind, messes with perceptions-"

"-And yet it heals and strengthens. Again, look at John and Mary. Or even Lestrade with Molly. John was alone (and yes, while you're his best friend, he lacked a lady-love), and now he's happier than you've ever seen him. And Lestrade clearly dotes on Molly; you remember how angry he got when you said she was merely his ward, not his flesh-and-blood daughter."

"You are just as stubborn as she is."

She laughed. "Oh no... this is all you, remember?" and the image rippled and changed to become himself, smirking back at him.

"So, then, what would I do in this situation?"

His mind-palace double snorted. "I'd say be cliché and 'follow your heart', but that'd end up getting you caught. Just... be cautious. But you already know that. Expand your relationship, see where it leads. Let your pupil be your teacher," he said, steepling his fingers under his chin.

"Is it childish to say that I'm terrified of the consequences of my actions for once?"

"No. You're a control freak who is not used to _not_ being in control. And love is... a sort of diving headlong into the great unknown. _Especially_ for us," his reflection mused.

"God... I want her..."

The image's eyes darkened and became piercingly bright at the same time. "Oh yes, we do," it murmured, lips curling into a feral smile. "Especially after the willow tree meeting. God... her _hands_...."

"I can't get her out of my mind."

"I know. I'm you, after all. Well, a manifestation of your suppressed Id. You seriously need to loosen up, I get so strangled in here," the image said, wrinkling its nose.

"I'm done here," Sherlock muttered, exhaling and closing his eyes.

The image smirked before fading out. "No, you're not, but whatever. You'll be back..." And with that it went silent.

Sherlock opened his eyes, the full brunt of his inebriated state crashing over his head. Groaning, he dragged himself to bed and set his alarm before passing out on top of the duvet and hoping he'd remember nothing in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)- The Ivy Bush: Pub in Hobbiton (we just couldn't help ourselves)


	5. Not Close Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim's just having a bad day all around, and maybe Sebastian is the only one who can help him

Jim came storming into their room and threw himself on his bed, burrowing under the covers and curling up, wishing the whole world would just disappear. He knew Sebby wouldn't be back for a bit and just wanted to be alone...but at the same time, he wanted the other boy there. He was so totally screwed.

 

When Seb came back to their dorm room, it was nearly eight in the evening. He opened the door to find the lights off and a large lump under the covers that was, apparently, a very pissy Jim. He switched on the desk lamp for its warm glow rather than the harsh overhead lighting after shutting the door, then dumped off his satchel and coat. Toeing off his shoes, he settled himself on to the bed, curling around the warm mass that was his lover. "What's the matter?" he murmured, resting his head on what could have been Jim's shoulder, though he couldn't tell under the fabric of the comforter. The smaller boy flinched and curled up tighter, shaking slightly and not responding. Even sleep had eluded him since the end of class.

 

Now Seb was a little concerned. He wormed his way under the covers. "Jimmy... _James_...my love, please talk to me," he said, wrapping his arms around him.

 

Jim shook his head and balled his hands into fists as Seb pulled him close. He was warm and comforting and everything he didn't deserve, everything he'd never deserved. The blonde sighed and pressed gentle, soothing kisses to the top of Jim's head. "All right. I'll be here when you do feel like talking. If you do. And even if you don't, I'll still be here," he said, rubbing circles along his lover's back.

 

" _Why_?" The dark haired boy could barely recognize his own voice, could barely even hear it.

 

"Hm? Why what?"

 

"Why will you be here? Why won't you leave? Why do you love me? _Why_ , Sebastian Moran?"

 

He blinked at the sudden, almost anguished outpouring of questions. "One: I live/sleep here, and you're here. Two: I don't really have anywhere else to go. And you're here. Three: I love you because you are the singular most brilliant person I have ever known. You're also sexy as hell, and...you don't want to just drop me like an old sock when we're not shagging. That's why, James Moriarty."

 

Twisting in Seb's grip, Jim rolled over so that he was curled up against the older boy's chest, crawling up out of his blanket cocoon. "No one ever bothered to care about me. Not my mother or father, certainly not my brother, none of the servants or workers, no one ever. Why do you? What makes you _care_ about me?"

 

"Because...I know _exactly_ how that feels. No one cared about me after my mum died...and right now, I think it's safe to say that we're the only people in each other's lives who care. I care for you...you care for me. We have each other and, as trite and stupid as it sounds, that's all we need."

 

All it took was one drop to leak from his already damnable watery eyes, and Jim began to cry hot, anguished tears all over Seb's shirt. He unclenched his fists and clung tightly to whatever fabric he could. Seb held Jim tightly to him, feeling him sob into his shirt. "Shhhh...it's all right, I'm here. I've got you," he murmured quietly into Jim's hair, rubbing soothing circles along his spine. "I'm here."

 

"I know and I just don't understand!"

 

"Sometimes you don't _need_ to understand."

 

"Yes I do! I _always_ need to understand!! If I can't, then I'm normal and boring and ordinary just like all the rest of them!"

 

"Jim...I honestly wouldn't _care_ if you were normal and boring and ordinary. I'd still be here. Because I love you. I do. Because you are an amazing person, even if you didn't _have_ the spectacular brain. You're funny, you're caring (in your own fashion), and you aren't _scared_ of me. You saw me when no one else did."

 

"Only because you practically bowled me over in the corridor and didn't stop to apologize."

 

Seb chuckled gently at the memory. "And you still sought me out. Most people would have just called me an arse and walked off. But _you_...you came after me."

 

"Yes because I had to understand what could possibly have possessed you to do that and then expect I'd just leave it alone. I don't just leave things alone, Moran."

 

His chuckle turned dark. "Oh, I know. And once you understood, you could have just...left. But you _didn't_. You stayed."

 

"Because for some god forsaken reason you were So. Inexplicably. _Interesting_. Just when I think I've figured you out or can read you perfectly, you do something else. It's infuriating."

 

"Thank you. That's high praise, coming from you."

 

Jim stuck his tongue out at Seb. "Don't get used to it, Tiger."

 

He smirked and captured Jim's tongue with his own mouth, twining his own tongue with his lover's before sucking on it gently, a kiss meant to reassure. _Something unexpected, just like this_ , Jim thought as he leaned into the kiss and closed his eyes. He could feel the tears drying on his face even as he moaned with pleasure from the blonde's ministrations on his tongue.

 

Seb broke the kiss on Jim's mouth in favor of moving his mouth along the now-drying tear tracks on Jim's face, ridding him of them before pressing a tender kiss to each closed eyelid. Jim gasped and whimpered, pressing as close as he could to his lover, not necessarily wanting more, but seeking reassurance and comfort, the pressure and texture and warmth of Seb's lips making him shiver slightly. Gently kissing Jim's forehead, the blondedrew him closer and rocked gently, like he was lulling him to sleep. His lips stayed pressed to the top of his lover's head, breathing in his scent.

 

"Sebby...oh my Sebby," Jim murmured. "Why me..." he mused, holding tight to the blonde.

 

"Because you're _you_."

 

"Does that make you mine?"

 

"Yes, of course. Just as you are mine."

 

"I've never been anybody's anything before. I'm usually just a nuisance who is too smart for the others to appreciate."

 

"You are _so_ much more than that. And you are..." here Seb took a breath. "You are my everything."

 

Damn his emotions to hell, but Jim choked on his breath and buried his face in Seb's chest, sobbing and trying to breathe in the scent of the older boy at the same time.

 

"Let it out...I've got you. I love you."

 

Jim cried until even the fabric of Seb's shirt was soaked with tears, but he refused to move his face from the big, damp patch until his nose began to run; then he shifted and used Seb's shirt as a handkerchief. The older boy made a face, but said nothing. It would come off in the wash, and Jim needed comforting right now. Now _there_ was a sentence he'd never thought he'd use. But regardless of it being surprising or not, his lover was still _human_ , as much as Jim himself tried to deny or forget that fact.

 

Once he could breathe again, Jim crawled his way back up to be face to face with Seb, taking in the harder lines of his tanned face, the shadow of light stubble on his jaw and chin and upper lip and the blue eyes that never seemed to end but said everything he ever needed to know. Seb met Jim's gaze, letting his feelings and his thoughts and his love pour out through his eyes. He held Jim close and kissed him again, to comfort, to heal, to reassure.

 

They lay that way for a long time, trading kisses and breaths. At one point Jim managed to wrap his legs around Seb's middle in order to hold him closer. He couldn't seem to manage to be as close as he wanted or needed. It was as if he just wanted to crawl into the other boy's skin and wear it as his own, but even then it wouldn't be enough.

 

He really didn't care that Jim's legs were wrapped around his waist. He had one arm wound around Jim's waist as well, the other buried in his hair, holding him as close as he physically could. They kissed and breathed as if they needed each other to survive. And in many ways that they were still both learning, they did. The genius buried his thin, short, pale fingers in the blonde curls, rubbing tiny circles on Seb's scalp as his tongue did a similar motion on the roof of Seb's mouth, eliciting the most delicious moan he'd heard in a while from the other while the blonde started to dig his nails into Jim's back, raking them not-so-gently downwards.

 

Jim arched his back, hissing and whimpering. "I _love_ that, Tiger," he panted before diving back into Seb's mouth. Seb purred and repeated the action before rolling over and trapping Jim in a cage made by his arms and his body. Pinning him there, he had Jim all to himself, which made him smirk smugly.

 

His head fell backward, forcing his chin up and his neck to arch. Brown eyes opened slowly to gaze over the face above him. "Pinned me, have you?"

 

He grinned toothily. "Yep. Pinned ya..." he murmured, before bending his head to gently nip and bite at Jim's exposed throat.

 

Jim growled. "Does that make me Simba?" he smirked. Not his fault his brother had been addicted to Disney as a kid.

 

Seb blinked. Then he laughed uproariously. "I guess. King of this here jungle. I'll have to see about getting you a crown, my love," he said, grinning.

 

Jim scrunched up his nose before grinning. "Tried one on before at this depressingly dull Renaissance Fair that my family dragged me to...and honey, you should _see_ me in a crown."

 

"Oooh, bet it suits you something wicked," the larger boy purred.

 

"You have no idea, Tiger. Now, how about you show me some of that love that you've got poking into my hip, hmmm? I just want to eat you up; I can't get enough of you."

 

"Oh, with _pleasure_ ," Seb said, rocking into Jim, rutting against him so he could really feel just what he did to him.

 

"Ohdearchrist-" Jim gasped as he tried to lean up and kiss Seb only to find that he was well and truly trapped.

 

"As I said before, my love...pinned ya," he murmured, before claiming Jim's mouth with his own, grinding his arousal into his lover's which he could feel straining against the fabric of Jim's trousers.

 

"Not fair...not close enough."

 

"Not close enough? Then let's see about remedying that," Seb said, his fingers flying to undress both his lover and himself. Jim helped where he could, pulling at cloth and ripping where buttons and cuffs wouldn't come apart fast enough. He needed to touch, to be touched, the craving almost more than his mind could comprehend; he loved it.

 

Finally, when they were both bare to each other, Seb dragged Jim close to him, pressing the line of his body along his lover's, skin to skin. He gently rutted against Jim, half-moaning at the friction of his touch.

 

"Oh god yes...oh Sebby, hand me the lube," Jim moaned as he flipped them over and attached his lips to the sensitive spot on his lover's neck

 

He felt his eyes roll back into his head as Jim hit that one spot on his neck that made his toes curl, barely able to do as he was asked to and pass the lube to his lover. He arched beneath him, letting Jim have his way with him. He usually preferred topping, but right now, he didn't care. He needed it, and _Jim_ needed it.

 

The genius cursed as he spilled a good portion of the lube on Seb's stomach before managing to coat his fingers and slip one inside the other boy. Using the puddle he'd made, Jim gathered some in his left hand and slowly began stroking Seb's half-hard arousal.

 

Seb let out a guttural moan as Jim slipped a finger inside of him and stroked his cock with his other hand. "Hnn...Jimmy, _more_ ," he said, rocking up into his lover's touch.

 

"If you insist," came the reply as Jim worked a second finger in to join the first, twisting and curling them as he stroked Seb harder and leaned down to kiss and lick at his balls.

 

"Fffff-FUCK!" Seb swore roundly as a third variable was added to his pleasure- Jim's mouth. "Jesusfucking _CHRIST_ Jimmy," he moaned, winding his fingers into Jim's fine, dark hair. "Need you, _please_..."

 

"In a minute."

 

The larger boy growled. "No, need you _now_."

 

"I thought _I_ was in charge."

 

He whimpered. " _Please_ , Jim..."

 

Brown eyes flicked up to meet blue ones blown wide with lust. "Begging? Hmm." He kept his fingers in as he moved back up Seb's body and scooped up the rest of the spilled lube and slicked himself up.

 

Seb hissed a breath. "Only for you," he panted.

 

There was the ghost of a smirk playing over his lips as he withdrew his fingers and pressed the head of his cock against Seb's hole." Only for me?"

 

He whined and bucked upwards. " _Yes_. Only for you!"

 

"Ah, ah, ah, patience is a virtue, Tiger." He was feeling more and more like himself again with every passing second.

 

"A virtue which I am running out of."

 

"Oh, I think you could manage a few more seconds."

 

He bucked upwards, causing Jim to sink into him. " _There_. Few seconds gone by. _NOW_ , Magpie!" he bit out.

 

"You sure?" Jim's voice dropped to a feral growl as he sheathed himself the rest of the way into the blonde.

 

Sebastian keened as Jim drove all the way home. "Aaaaaaaaaah! OhfuckingChrist _yes_ ," he moaned.

 

Jim wrapped his arms around Seb's torso and held him close, breathing in his scent and not moving. Seb reciprocated the embrace that Jim wrapped him in, pressing kisses to his face and neck, then started to move his hips, now slightly desperate for friction. Jim bit Seb's shoulder gently. "Nope, not yet, Tiger."

 

He snarled and arched more into his lover; the smaller boy just bit harder. "Warning you, Seb."

 

Without warning, Seb surged up and flipped them so that he was on top. He pinned Jim's wrists to the bed and began to slowly rock against him, a wicked smirk on his lips. "Pinned you again," he said triumphantly.

 

Jim's lip curled as he flexed his wrists and fingers. "Only because I _let_ you."

 

He chortled. "Just keep telling yourself that, Jimmy."

 

Quick as lightning, Jim slipped from Seb's grasp and flipped them over again, pulling out until just his tip was brushing Seb's hole. "Yes, because I let you."

 

Seb was surprised as _he_ was on the bottom again. And now Jim was teasing him. "Sorry, Magpie-love, sorry. Now _please_..." he said, getting increasingly frustrated.

 

Jim rolled his neck as he eyed the man below him. "Well, I suppose so," he purred before making Sebastian take him completely in one smooth thrust and capturing his lips simultaneously.

 

Seb exhaled as Jim sheathed himself to the hilt inside of him. "Fffuuuuck, _yes_ ," he moaned into Jim's mouth, holding him close as he could, feeling their hearts hammering against each other.

 

"Even closer," Jim whimpered as he started to thrust slowly, rolling his hips down before helping Seb wrap his long, warm legs around Jim's middle.

 

With Jim's help, he wound his legs around his lover's waist and pulled him even closer, as close as they could physically get. " _God_ , I love you so much," he breathed as Jim thrust slowly into him.

 

"More, help me, Tiger."

 

He moved with him, arching as Jim thrust forward, receding as he pulled back, moving at his lover's pace. "Need more...faster, _please_ ," he murmured.

 

"I can do that," Jim groaned, picking up his pace and driving deeper into Seb. "So hot and _tight_ , Tiger."

 

"And -nnngh- you feel so _good_ inside me, Magpie."

 

Jim shifted, changing his angle slightly and driving harder into Seb. "Like that?"

 

His breath left him in a rush as Jim's angle caused him to go deeper and harder, brushing against his prostate. He made a sharp gasp of pleasure. "OH! Fuck yes, I like that," he said, his fingernails digging into the skin of Jim's back.

 

"Let me do it again for you," Jim whispered into Seb's ear ad his tongue traced a path down to his shoulder where he bit and sucked the skin.

 

Seb keened as Jim was good on his word, the feeling of the smaller boy's teeth in the skin of his shoulder increasing his pleasure. "OhfuckingHELLJames! Not gonna last much longer...want to come with you...come together," he moaned in between thrusts.

 

"Keep talking to me...and that'll happen," Jim murmured as he sucked harder.

 

He had enough presence of mind to raise an eyebrow. So...Jim liked to be talked to? He could deliver. "You feel- so good- inside me," he panted. "So hard, so hot. I can't- ahh!- get enough of you."

 

"And what...do you want...me to do...to you?" Jim was panting now, the mere timbre of Seb's voice striking chords within him.

 

"Want you -to make- me _scream_ \- your name! Want us- to come- together," he said, his eyes beginning to roll back into his head as he felt himself beginning to crest.

 

The dark haired boy lifted his mouth to Seb's ear. " _Now_."

 

That undid him. Seb came with a cry of his lover's name, shaking and panting and arching his back, legs locked around his waist as he drove him deeper, his muscles contracting around him. Jim barely managed one more thrust before Seb ripped his orgasm from him; he poured himself into the blonde as he cried his name before collapsing and gasping for air. Seb pressed afterglow kisses to whatever parts of Jim's skin he could reach, panting as they both came down from their high, covered in each other's sweat. "Fucking _hell_. I love you so much," he murmured, holding him close.

 

"All sticky now," Jim mumbled against Seb's throat as he nuzzled closer. "And I love you too."

 

"Don't care if we're sticky," he muttered back. "Jus' wanna sleep now."

 

"Heeehehehe, I'm stuck on you," Jim giggled. His mind felt wonderfully relaxed after all of that

 

Seb snorted. "Yeah, yeah you are," he said, giggling himself.

 

"'Kay. Gonna sleep now...th-thanks, Sebby."

 

Seb smiled and kissed the top of Jim's head. "Any time, my love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaand we're heading into Spring Break! That will take up the next few chapters with Worstan, Molly's plan of "Matthew" and some very intense MorMor...Jim still needs a heart after all. Stay tuned!


	6. Spring Break- Back Rub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John should know better than to collect so many papers from his students right before break

It was roughly two fifteen in the morning when Mary woke up. The first thing she noticed was that the other side of the bed was empty; the second thing was that there was a light still on in the dining room. She rolled out of bed and shrugged on a dressing gown to go investigate. She wandered out of the bedroom to find that John was at the table, hunched over a stack of labs and tests, neither of the piles looking like they would shrink any time soon. "John...dearest...you _need_ to come to bed. You can grade more later," she murmured as she walked over to him.

 

He dropped the pen in his hand and rubbed his face with a sigh. "What time is it?"

 

"Quarter past 2 in the morning."

 

"That's not possible."

 

"Yet it's true. Come to bed," she said, tugging gently on his jumper.

 

"But I have to finish the labs and then start on the tests for three separate classes, Mary."

 

"John, if you don't get any sleep, you're going to be absolutely useless when you go to grade those tests. And then you'll have to do them all over again, which will make you tetchy and isn't fun for anyone. Please?"

 

"Mary-"

 

"I'll give you a backrub."

 

John shook his head. "All right, _fine_ , but I have to continue-"

 

"Later. At the more decent hour of 8 in the morning. I have faith in you that you'll get this all done. We _are_ on break, after all."

 

" _You_ might be on break. This is just an excuse for me to catch up on paperwork," John muttered as Mary led him back to the bedroom.

 

"Hush. Into your pajamas, then on your stomach on the bed," she chided him gently.

 

"What's the point of pajamas if you're going to give me a backrub?"

 

"Pajama bottoms, love. And I said _backrub_ , not anything else. Although..." she said, a smirk showing itself on her face, "we can see where it goes, if you're up to it.."

 

John arched an eyebrow and smirked back. "What would I do without you?"

 

"You would never sleep, for starters...and you'd be rather lonely, just as I would without you," Mary said softly as she watched him strip off his clothing in favor of his more comfortable pajama pants.

 

The doctor climbed onto their bed and rested his head on his pillow, folding his arms up underneath it as he lay on his stomach. "I might not make it five minutes at this rate," he mumbled.

 

She knelt to one side and judged visually how best to start, then gave up and ended up straddling his hips. She reached her hands up and started on his shoulders, which carried much of his tension. John groaned into the pillow. "Oh Jesus... _Mary..._ "

 

She added more pressure and began working down his back, moving steadily until she got to the base of his spine before she reversed direction and went back up to his shoulders, this time adding in his neck to her ministrations. "You _really_ should go to bed earlier," she murmured as she worked on a particularly stubborn kink.

 

"Little higher...to the left... _ohgodrightthere_...not gonna happen, you know that... _ohhhhhh_ that feels fantastic."

 

She snorted. "Of course...immovable as a rock when you want to be." Mary reached up and started to massage his scalp after she worked on the area that he needed most (between his shoulder blades and slightly to the left), her clever fingers winding through his sandy blonde hair.

 

The man purred, arching slightly into her touch. "Oh god...oh Mary...y'sure you didn't study to be a masseuse?"

 

She chuckled throatily. "I'm sure. One just has to have a knowledge of anatomy and be...good with their hands," she murmured into his ear before moving back down his neck, going from his shoulder to work on his left arm, down the bicep and forearm, to work on the wrist, palm and fingers before she worked her way back up the arm to focus on the shoulders again.

 

John shivered and moaned as he sank further into the mattress. "You might have to tuck me in, love."

 

Mary really did laugh this time. "I'm all right with that," she said as she moved down his right arm, paying the same attention to it. Right after she finished with his fingers, she pressed a kiss to each one and then the palm.

 

John could feel his eyes closing as if little weights were attached to his eyelids. "That's wonderful, Mary. Should play Nurse more often," he teased weakly.

 

She smiled and picked herself up, managing to pull the covers out from under John so she could replace them over him. With that done, she crawled into bed next to him, taking in his warmth and his scent. "Sleep well, my love," she said quietly as she shut out the light.

 

"Give us a kiss before we pass out," John whispered, turning his face toward her.

 

Mary leaned in and her mouth met John's, moving slowly, sweetly against his. "I love you," she murmured between breaks.

 

"I love you too," he whispered back, snuggling closer and pulling her against his chest. She sighed happily as he held her closely, and they both soon fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.


	7. Spring Break- Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly puts her plan of playing "Matthew" into action...

It was near the end of spring break when Molly decided that she wanted to try her plan. She had gotten the idea from Twelfth Night: dress up as a young man and see if she could meet Sherlock easier like that. So, after some more studying, she went to various stores and bough men's clothing in her size, as well as ace bandages to bind her breasts up so she would appear as flat-chested as she was normally called. Her disguise in place and a cap tugged down over her eyes, she went out into the public to see if anyone would notice, to see if she were as obvious as she felt, dressing up as the opposite gender.

 

Sherlock glanced at his watch, thinking it was probably time to head back to Baker Street if he wanted to finish grading the exams and finish planning the next two units and the final paper topics; God, it would be time to choose those when they returned from holiday. Groaning inwardly at the thought of more paperwork, he turned around and ran smack into a shorter, younger figure. "I'm terribly sorry."

 

Everything was going according to plan; no one had given her a second glance as 'Matthew', and it appeared that no one was the wiser. Suddenly, she was nearly barreled over by a tall figure who apologized smoothly. "Wotcher, mate," 'Matthew' said in his slightly rough voice. Then she saw who had run into her. "Sh-sherlock?" she gasped, forgetting her disguise.

 

The voice made him stop. " _Molly_?" he whispered, eyes going wide. "What are you-oh...I see." His surprise quickly melted from his visage and was replaced by careful indifference. "My fault, I'm sorry."

 

N-no worries," she said, trying to adopt the rough and lower timbre of her disguise's voice, but failing. "Fancy running into you around here, literally..." she said, slightly nervous.

 

"Just act natural and follow me."

 

"Right," she said. She adopted a face much like his (cool, casual indifference) as she followed his great strides, around a corner, up a street, across, and around another corner. The crowds rapidly dropped away. They were only a few blocks from Baker Street, so the walk fairly short; when they got there, Sherlock ushered her inside quickly before shutting the door and leading her upstairs and locking the flat door behind them.

 

Her eyes wide, she looked around. She was in _his flat_. It was a darkly furnished yet homey place. There was plenty of room to stretch and move, nice windows, a fireplace, a kitchen...and what seemed to be a bright yellow smiley-face spray painted on the wall, punctuated by... _bullet holes_? She shook her head. Everyone had their own...habits, and it was rude to stare. She moved the cap back on her head for a bit of a better look at her surroundings, allowing her hairstyle to loosen a bit. She was forced to make a sacrifice and keep all of her long, brown hair up and out of the way, pinned so tightly to her that she thought her scalp would bleed. Sherlock strode around quickly, shutting all the drapes before turning on the lights ad rounding on her. "Why are you doing this?"

 

She was slightly taken aback, then a bit indignant. "Because I wanted to see if it would work. And also, people would talk less if you were in the company of a young man. A male teacher and a female student allows people to talk, whereas this is a bit safer," she said, defending herself.

 

"Safer how? I've still brought someone younger up to my flat, and if it were ever discovered that it were _you_ -"

 

"I _know_. And I checked to make sure; no one was looking."

 

"As did I. But I'm also known as something of a recluse. Did you think about that?"

 

"... oh," she said quietly. "Distant relation dropping by to visit?" she offered. It was stretching the truth, but it could be plausible.

 

He stared at her. "Molly, my only relation is _Mycroft_."

 

"It was an _idea_. Not everyone knows that," she protested.

 

"It's not just my job on the line here! Do you have any idea what your father would do to us if he found out? Does he expect you home tonight?"

 

"I _know_. And he's out of town for a conference," she said, her voice now slightly sullen. She was sick of being treated like she was twelve...

 

"How _convenient_."

 

Her eyes flashed. "I honestly had no idea that this was going to happen" she said. "I was out for a walk and ran into you quite by accident."

 

"And if you hadn't run into me? Would you have come searching? Looked me up? You do not seem to understand what I am trying to do here, Molly!"

 

She made a frustrated noise. "I'm not some stalker, and I'm not an idiot! The only way I would have found out where you lived would be if you told me, or took me there yourself. If I hadn't run into you, I would have gone back home!"

 

"So what were you trying to accomplish? To prove that you could go through London unnoticed? Wait, don't answer that. I can see it written clearly enough on your face and in your hands."

 

She glared at him. "If you're _quite_ finished," she said, trying to keep her voice level but laced with annoyance all the same, "I think it's past my _bedtime_. I should be getting home now."

 

Sherlock pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm down. "I'm only trying to protect-" But he never finished.

 

"Protect?! Protect me from what?! I'm NOT a child, Sherlock! I'm a woman! I can _think_ for myself! I'm so _sick_ of everyone thinking that I have book smarts but the common sense of a beetle!" Molly said, her eyes flashing as she paced slightly. She stopped and turned her back towards him, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Now, seeing as I've surely overstayed my welcome-" she began to head towards the door.

 

"No, wait-" He reached out and caught her hand, yanking her away from the door.

 

"For what? Another scolding?" she said, her eyes meeting his angrily.

 

"For this." He tugged her back and into a bruising kiss, one he'd fantasized about far too frequently since their night at the willow.

 

Their mouths met with an intensity that startled her, their first contact since that night by the banks of the river underneath the willow tree. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss with a passion that she scarcely knew she possessed, pulling him to her.

 

"Oh god, Molly," he whimpered, backing her against the door to his flat. "I-we shouldn't-"

 

She shut him up with another kiss, even as her back hit the door with a solid -thunk-. During the melding of their mouths, she somehow managed to remove her cap and took her hands from around him so she could begin taking the pins out, freeing her hair into a loose fall that tumbled down over her shoulders. He gathered the pins and clips from her hands and dropped them into her cap before kissing her again, working his fingers through her loosened hair

 

Molly moaned into his mouth as his fingers worked through her hair, gently moving against her scalp and soothing away the hurt from where it had been so tightly pinned for so long. Now she could see _why_ her ministrations to his own hair almost made him fall to his knees.

 

Sherlock broke the kiss to meet her gaze, noting how dark her eyes were already. "I-Molly I-"

 

"Yes?" she murmured, panting slightly. Every fiber of her body was on edge.

 

"I-I" _Oh fuck it!_ "I want you."

 

Molly felt a tremor run through her. " _Yes_ ," she said, her voice hoarse. "Oh god...I want you, too..."

 

"I still don't...know how..." He could feel the flush rising in his face.

 

"Don't worry...mostly instinct. And I'll help you," she murmured. And, having said that, she arched her body into his and brought his mouth down to hers again, to kiss him deeply and nibble slightly at his lower lip.

 

The professor whimpered into her mouth as his arms snaked around Molly's back to press her closer. "B-bedroom," he whispered.

 

Her breath left her in a rush. "Yes..." she whispered back, letting him lead her there, both of them moving as if they were in a trance.

 

Sherlock shut the door to his room behind them before turning back to Molly, feeling more nervous than he thought could possibly be normal. She could see his apprehension and crossed to him, wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay..." she said, pressing light kisses to his chest.

 

"I can present research in front of an entire room of academics and yet I feel like I just want to vanish right now."

 

She chuckled. "Don't worry. It's only me. I won't judge you. This is...consider it a _learning_ experience," she said, smirking up at him as she moved back to shed her coat and help unbutton his.

 

He dropped he heavy coat to the floor and reached up to brush her hair back from her face. "I...I love you."

 

She stretched up to place gentle kisses at the corners of his lips and barely brush his mouth with hers. "And I love you," she murmured.

 

Sherlock followed her mouth, kissing her harder as he dropped his slightly shaking fingers to her shirt; her breath came in shorter gasps as she felt his fingers nervously undoing the buttons of her shirt. Molly moved her hands to his to do the same, letting her fingers trail along the bared skin of his torso when it hung open all the way. He shivered and swallowed hard, frowning as he felt the bandages on her chest. Sherlock opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow pointedly.

 

She flushed. "Ah...binding. Makes them...less noticeable," she said. She squirmed slightly at the thought of him about to unwrap her, layer by layer, like some sort of Christmas present. Sherlock tilted his head and smirked ever-so-faintly as he reached for the pins on her side and undid them, tugging gently at the bandage as it unwound from around her. Her breath caught as he began to unwind her bandage-binding and she had to bite her lip hard to keep from making any noise. A small whimper escaped her throat, in spite of herself.

 

"Spin for me. It'll help."

 

She had to stifle laughter and she did as he asked, raising her arms and spinning, feeling the binding come off one layer at a time. Finally, slightly dizzy, she stopped and felt the cooler air on her skin, causing her to cross her arms in front of her now-bare breasts out of self-consciousness and habit. Sherlock shook his head as he traced his fingers up and down her arms. "If we're going to do this, then you don't need to hide." He kissed her gently on the lips before moving down to her neck, shoving his anxiety about consequences and repercussions to the back of his mind.

 

She took a deep breath and let it out, lowering her arms so that she was naked to the waist before him. She made a noise of pleasure in the back of her throat as his lips moved down her neck; again, she wound her arms around his shoulders, but it was skin to skin contact this time which made her flesh break out into goose bumps. Sherlock's hands slowly splayed out against the skin of her back, rubbing gentle circles as he held her to him. "I hate that I'm so nervous," he muttered in her ear.

 

"It's perfectly normal," Molly reassured him, her voice slightly strangled as he caressed the bare skin of her back and pressed her to him. One of her hands slid to the small of his back, just above the waistline of his trousers, and the other hand moved to his weak spot: his hair. She kissed along his shoulder and collarbone as she did so, to help undo and relax him more.

 

" _Cheating_ ," he moaned as her fingers worked his scalp and tugged at his dark, curly locks. Sherlock felt his knees going weak, and he maneuvered them to the bed to keep himself from collapsing on the wood floor of his room.

 

She chuckled softly. "Not cheating...playing an advantage," she murmured into his skin, squeaking slightly as she hit the bed and fell backwards on to it, her grip on him lost as she tried to regain her balance and fell, flopping softly on the mattress. Sherlock threw out his hand, managing to not collapse on top of her but realizing that he was now caging her against the edge of the mattress with his body and arms.

 

She looked up at him, trapped by his body against the bed and her heartbeat ratcheted up a few more notches. Almost hesitantly, she reached up and touched his cheek, before sliding her fingertips towards his neck, down his throat and collarbone, across his sternum, to sweep down his abdomen, the touch feather-light and nearly nonexistent. She arched her hips, in the hopes that it would garner some response from him. It was an odd mix of sensations coursing through him, not the least of which was the sheer _want_ for her. He lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing and licking his way down to her collarbone where he sucked and worked the skin gently in his mouth, continuing to deny her the touch of his chest on hers

 

She lost her breath as she felt his tongue and lips against her skin. "Oh, Sherlock..." she whispered, wanting, no, _needing_ more.

 

"Yes, Ophelia?" he purred, tracing just the tip of his tongue along the bone pressing up against his lips.

 

"I...I _need_ you..." she gasped, arching into his mouth, almost begging him to touch her, to not tease her like this.

 

"Really? And why would I want to end it all so soon?" If teasing was really a part of this, Sherlock thought he might be able to handle it a bit better; he was already master of the snappy comeback

 

She nearly growled at him. "Because it's-nh-n-not fair."

 

"What isn't fair?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

 

"T-teasing!" she gasped. Then her eyes went alight; two could play at that game. Her hands went down, down, down along his skin to just barely brush against the front of his trousers. Sherlock jumped, his face flushing rapidly as he stared down at her; he'd nearly forgotten about his erection where it was straining against the fabric. Molly smirked up at him and repeated the motion, a little firmer this time.

 

"M- _Molly_!"

 

"Hm? Something you want to say?" she murmured, her lips in a wicked grin as she slowly removed her hands and moved them up the skin of his back to lightly brush the nape of his neck.

 

Where they were at the moment was safe, not quite far enough to be serious, but if they moved...if _he_ moved her fully onto the bed, then Sherlock knew he wouldn't be able to stop. "Are you sure?"

 

" _Yes_ ," she whispered into his ear.

 

Brow furrowing, Sherlock took a deep breath and lifted Molly onto the bed, resting her head against the pillows before climbing up after to straddle her. She arched into him as he straddled her, wanting more, wanting to _show_ him more. But, as she told him before, she wouldn't rush him. Sherlock reached into his side table and pulled out a condom, blushing as he thought about discovering them when he'd unpacked, realizing that Mycroft had slipped them into his case before the git had left for Italy again. Well, he was actually going to use the gift now.

 

Her eyebrows went up. So...he wasn't a _complete_ babe in the woods. She smiled and drew him down for a kiss, focusing on what he tasted like, even as her hips rocked into his, pressing their arousals together. Sherlock _gasped_ into her mouth, the friction really driving him mad now. "Trousers," he managed as he tore open the packet.

 

Her fingers deftly unbuttoned and unzipped him, before her hands found their way inside. She was reminded of their meeting at the willow, except this time there was no fear of someone walking in on them or seeing them at all. She stroked upwards against his length, moving her hands across and over it. Sherlock's breathing caught in his throat, and he took a few seconds to pull his control back. "N-none of that," he said, his voice a great deal rougher than he'd intended. Tugging down his pants, he rolled the condom on before shoving the rest of his clothes off and onto the floor, turning back to unbutton and unzip her jeans. Molly lifted her hips to help him along, flushing, once more, self-consciously as she was totally bare before him, her clothes joining his on the pile on the floor.

 

Sherlock stared down at her and simply _observed_ , his mind taking in hundreds of details at once as he realized that he wanted her to take control. Biting his lip, the man rolled onto his back and looked over at the young woman beside him, his request written in his gaze. Her eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. She was sure her whole body was a fetching shade of red now, as she sat up and then knelt, swinging one leg over his hips to straddle him, just brushing her sex along his, gently teasing him with her heat and slickness.

 

Sherlock's eyes widened and threatened to roll back in his head. He forced himself to meet her eyes before nodding once, letting his desire flood his mind and shove his doubts completely from it. He wanted this to be special, to really matter and be something he could remember fondly, even if it never happened again. She saw his single nod and positioned herself over him before sinking down slowly, allowing herself to adjust to him as he filled her to the hilt. He was, to be quite honest, bigger than her last (and thus far only) partner, and she moaned softly as she felt the stretch and burn inside of her. She slowly began to move, rocking back and forth around him.

 

The tall, pale man thought he was going to pass out from the sensory overload: her expression as she took him in, the feel of her around him, their combined scents, her _moving_...she was gorgeous, ethereal, perhaps the spirit of a fallen princess, of his Ophelia. It couldn't be a coincidence that they'd chosen those particular monikers...but then his mind went blank and all he could focus on has his hands on her hips and the look in her eyes as she watched him.

 

Molly locked eyes with Sherlock, feeling fey and wanton as she moved against him. _Yes, this is real. Yes, I want you. Yes, you're_ in _me. Yes...I_ love _you_ was what she hoped she was expressing with her gaze. She gently hauled him into a sitting position so she could clutch him to her, pressing fierce kisses to his face and mouth as she moved around and above him. She whimpered softly as she felt _everything_ , her heart pounding, her breath coming short, his hands gripping her hips. Sherlock clung to her, breathing raggedly as they moved together now, rolling hips and sliding skin and then they were kissing and he fought to keep himself in check, but at this rate, he wasn't going to last much longer.

 

She could feel herself being pulled and pushed closer to the edge, to the turning point. She was so close that she could just about feel it, hovering a hairsbreadth out of her reach. She bent to his ear and murmured into it "Oh my love...my prince, my Hamlet, my _Sherlock_...yes. So _close_..."

 

"My fair Ophelia," he whispered, turning his head to claim her mouth, and then it was over. Fire burned in his gut before pouring down and out of him, his body shuddering and pulsing as he cried her name and came.

 

He cried out against her mouth and she felt him jerk and shudder into her as he finished. She just needed a few thrusts more and then she was gone as well, rippling and shattering around him, her body pulling him deeper like a small boat going under the waves of a tempest-tossed ocean. "Ah... _ah_! Sherlock!" she keened as she came, his name on her lips a supplication.

 

He wrapped his arms around Molly and held her to him until she came down, laying them both against the mattress. He couldn't speak or think, a gentle, pleasant haze settling over his mind. Her breath was coming in rapid pants as she lay against the skin of his chest, still feeling him sweetly sheathed inside of her. "I love you," she murmured as she placed several kisses to his neck and torso.

 

"I love you too," he whispered back

 

She rolled off of him, wincing a little, then shivered as the cooler air of the flat hit her skin where their sweat was rapidly drying. She curled up a bit and huddled into him, eager to partake of his body heat. Sherlock slowly removed and disposed of the condom before pulling up the sheets to keep them warm. "You all right?"

 

Molly nodded. "I'm fine, just a little sore...you're...ah...big," she said, flushing.

 

"Oh." He could feel the heat rising in his own face as he tried to shut out the mental images of her with Jim and of comparing lengths. "I-ah-I see."

 

She smiled as she nuzzled into his skin. "That was fantastic," she murmured. And it was... mostly because it was _him_...and she realized now just how _much_ and how _quickly_ she had come to love him.

 

"I will agree with you there. You know I have nothing to compare it to."

 

She made a noise of assent, quickly growing drowsy now that their passion was spent. She yawned, feeling her eyelids begin to flutter.

 

"Sleep, Molly. I'll watch over you."

 

She couldn't help the small tremor that went through her, and she clutched him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered, and she let her eyes close. She fell asleep to the sound of his beating heart. Sherlock lay awake long into the night as he held the sleeping girl, the fears and trepidations he'd managed to shove aside before now flooding back into his mind.

 

_What were they doing? What had he done?_


	8. Spring Break- Hunting for a Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For his plan to work, Jim still needs a human heart and the belladonna roots. Sebby is going to secure one of those for his lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow down with updates. Got a few /loooooong/ chapters to go through in addition to the new story "Dreams and Fantasies."

Seb checked his calendar; it was nearly two days before they returned back to Uni from break, and he was getting antsy. He had no idea what Jim's plans were, but they required a human heart. He would have to go hunting, and soon for it to be fresh.

 

 _When do you need your game piece by? -S_ he sent, their texts about the plans in code should they be intercepted for any reason.

 

_Probably by tomorrow. Things have to be fresh. -J_

 

He grinned, feral. _Perfect. You'll have it tomorrow night. -S_

 

He set about to cleaning and sharpening his favorite knives and tucking a length of garrote wire into his sleeve; he always got keyed up before a hunt.

 

_When do I get to see you again, Tiger? You've been gone all day. -J_

 

_Sharpening the tools of the trade. Can't fetch the game piece without the right tools. I'll be back later, don't fret, Magpie. -S_

 

_Miss you, Tiger darling. The world is such a terrible bore without you. -J_

 

Seb smiled, the expression leaning towards 'fond' as he read the text.

 

_Miss you too, dearest. I'll bring the piece when I come home to you. That way, you can admire it as things fall into place. -S_

 

_I shall have everything prepared for it. Come to my lab when you return. FY-J_

 

_Always and forever, my love. -S_

 

Jim sat back in bed as he stared at the mobile in his hand. He didn't really want to sleep without Sebby close by, but he knew this was the only way to get what he needed for his plan to work; he deserved the best, and Sebastian Moran would deliver. He always did.

 

oOoOo

 

The night passed slowly.; although he didn't like admitting it, Seb couldn't sleep very well any more without Jim next to him. And adrenaline of the coming hunt and subsequent retrieval of the 'game piece' had him on edge as well, so he forced himself to count sheep and managed to drop off when he reached number seven hundred forty-nine. The next day, he was up before the dawn, making his way to the city for a stakeout. He chose a different place than the last time he had hunted (since the previous trip had gone so badly), and he needed to find new grounds to replenish his stock, so to speak. The herds were thinning, and he couldn't have that, not in his part of the jungle. Seb found a prime spot, hidden from prying eyes, and sat down to wait.

 

_Abby had gotten good at this, at living on the streets. Enough people took pity on her on a regular basis that she always had some spare change, and there were several hostels she dropped in on from time to time._

 

Seb's keen blue eyes scanned the crowds of homeless by the hostels. No, no, no... all wrong. Needed a _girl_. He waited more, nearly growing frustrated when he, at last, saw her. She was approximately Molly's age, and she shied away from the larger crowds. Perfect. He bided his time until she moved away, started walking towards the deserted section of the town, and he followed, as silent as a shadow.

 

She kept her head down and walked fast through the London streets, glancing up and around from time to time. Abby felt like she was being watched, but her acute paranoia didn't help that feeling in the slightest.

 

He followed, no, _herded_ her; she was watchful and wary, but to survive on the streets, one had to be. Seb stuck to the darkness, easy to find in the now-gathering dusk. It was when she turned down a dead-end alley that he allowed himself a smile. Got her. He closed in. She had just...stopped, as if listening. He moved as quietly as he could, creeping up behind her. The last thing he needed was for her to startle and bolt; he didn't have the patience for wild chases tonight.

 

She waited, counting, holding her breath until-

She spun on her heel and whipped her knife out, slashing at the young man behind her.

 

His eyes widened. He was not expecting a fighter. He hissed in pain as her knife caught him across the torso, cutting through the fabric and skin, drawing blood. _Fuck_. That wasn't good, and now he saw red; the last thing he needed was this bitch to ruin his plans. He caught the arm that wielded the knife and twisted, causing her to drop the blade he then kicked and heard skitter away. " _Bad_ idea," Seb growled, before he released her arm. He brought his hands up to cup either side of her face, a hideous parody of tenderness and snapped her neck with one quick movement.

 

_How's it going, Tiger? -J_

 

_Been ages since you've said anything. -J_

 

_Didn't get lost, did you? -J_

 

Sebastian jumped as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He rolled his eyes. Jim. Of course.

 

_Game piece about to be acquired. Expect radio silence. Will come straight home when piece is secured. -S_

 

_Marvelous. Hope it wasn't too terribly difficult for you. -J_

 

_Bit of a fighter. Taken care of. -S_

 

_Oooooo, did little Tiger get a boo-boo? -J_

 

He smirked. _When I get home, will you kiss it to make it better? -S_

 

_And even more. Hurry up. -J_

 

_Would, if you'd stop texting me. Love you, but you still /talk/ too damn much. -S_

 

_Only because you aren't around to stop me. -J_

 

_Whatever. Now shut up and let me work. -S_

 

_You got it, Tiger. -J_

 

He snorted as he pocketed his phone and began his work. Since he knew what he was after, it didn't take very long. The incision, the location, the extraction, he had hands so steady it would make a surgeon weep. His grisly prize retrieved, he wiped the blood off of his gloves and doused the stains on the ground with the ammonia he kept in his pocket when hunting. If he _had_ managed to bleed on the ground, it would be useless as a sample now. He stashed the heart away and made for home.

 

_Piece secure. On my way home. -S_

 

_Lab prepped and ready. Make sure you don't leave a trail. -J_

 

_But of course, Magpie. I've done this for years, have no intention of being caught /now./ -S_

 

_Well, sor-ry for worrying about my favorite cat. Perhaps I'll make you sleep in the kitchens tonight. -J_

 

_Sorry... always tetchy when out on the job. Forgive me? -S_

 

_Maybe. -J_

 

_Please, Magpie-love? -S_

 

_We'll see. -J_

 

_On my way. -S_

 

_Good. -J_

 

oOoOo

 

Seb caught a bus back to the manor and wound his way downstairs to the impressive 'playroom' as Jim liked to call it: an enormous laboratory. He made sure that they were alone before calling out, "One heart, as ordered, Boss."

 

"Perrrrrrrrfect," Jim drawled from the far end of the room, beckoning for Seb to join him. The blonde walked over in long, easy strides, digging through his rucksack to retrieve the organ. He placed it gently on the table in front of Jim like a great cat bringing home some hapless animal to show off what a proud hunter he was.

 

The pale boy clapped his hands like a child at Christmas. He opened the bag and pulled on a pair of latex gloves before lifting the heart out. "Marvelous...just exquisite...all four chambers intact...fairly healthy for a street urchin...decent size and weight...oh this will do _veeeeeery_ nicely, Tiger," he purred, placing the organ in a dish of formaldehyde.

 

Seb had to fight not to beam, but he couldn't stop the proud smile from forming on his face as he watched Jim coo over the organ and place it in its specialized jar of preservatives. He puffed out his chest, pleased, and winced as the fabric of his shirt pulled on his wound. Jim pulled off the gloves as he heard Seb hiss. Turning to the older boy, he reached out and let his fingers dance over the tear in his shirt. "Tiger has a stripe now."

 

He snorted. "Had my fair share of stripes, but this is the first one to come from a knife blade," he said, scowling.

 

"Hmmmm." Jim untucked and unbuttoned the black shirt slowly, almost delicately before ripping it the rest of the way off and away from the gash.

 

Seb hissed. "MotherFUCKER that hurt!" he said loudly as the gash began to bleed again.

 

"Don't be such a wuss," Jim snapped as he opened the First-Aid kit that he'd gotten out. "Sit."

 

He scowled, but did as he was ordered, sitting on the edge of the stainless-steel table.

 

" _Chair_ , Moran!"

 

He smirked. "No, Jim. This is a _table_. For someone so brilliant, you can be so thick..."

 

"Sit. On. The. Chair or _sohelpme_ I'll make sure you can't sit for a month...and _not_ in the way you're thinking. Now, _move_."

 

"Fine, fine! No need to get your pants in a knot," he grumbled as he got up and sat in the chair in front of Jim. He would have crossed his arms, but that would have pulled on his wound and he didn't want that.

 

Jim dabbed at the wound first with a clean cloth before taking a cotton ball and dousing it with rubbing alcohol. "Hold still," he said as he strated cleaning out the gash.

 

"MOTHERCUNTINGWHORESONTHATHURTS!" Seb roared.

 

Jim smacked him. "Quit being such a big baby-"

 

He _glared_ at Jim. "Here, let me give you one to match and then clean it out with rubbing alcohol, see how that feels to you."

 

"What are you gonna do? Take a swipe at me with your paw? I could have poured the whole bottle on the wound, did you think about that? Still might, actually-"

 

Seb gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt. Sometimes he really couldn't stand the man he loved.

 

"Now, just hold still." Jim said as he doused another swab and applied it to the bleeding wound.

 

"THAT HURTS!" he roared as Jim continued to dab the alcohol-soaked swab at his wound.

 

"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!"

 

"If _you_ didn't use rubbing alcohol, it wouldn't hurt at all!"

 

"If you hadn't gotten sliced open, I wouldn't have to patch you up in the first place!"

 

"Well  then, _you_ shouldn't have asked for a human heart!"

 

"And _you_ should learn to pick your marks more carefully!"

 

There was a moment of tense silence where both boys glared at each other. "Now, hold still. This might sting a lot," Jim muttered as he continued his ministrations on the gash.

 

Seb hissed and flinched as the wound was cleaned, but didn't swear, keeping stoically silent. Jim's eyes flicked up to Seb's face but relaxed when the man said nothing. "By the way...thank you...for risking your life and getting the heart."

 

He blinked. It was rare, extremely so, for Jim to thank _anyone_. "You're welcome..."

 

Making sure the cut was completely clean, Jim bandaged up the blonde and stood to check on the heart. "A little while longer, and it will be perfect."

 

"So, care to tell me exactly what you have in mind that requires a human heart?" Seb asked casually as he got up, poking at his bandages.

 

"You mess those bandages up, and I'll hang you from the ceiling by your thumbs," Jim growled. "And I'm going to burn it."

 

He stopped poking at the bandages and glared. "All that hard work, and you're just going. To _Burn._ It..." he said, mightily annoyed.

 

"Yes...to make a point," Jim muttered absently as he turned back to face a shirtless Sebastian Moran. "To symbolize what I'm doing to Hooper, and I think, by proxy, to Professor Holmes...burn the heart out of them."

 

Understanding lit Seb's eyes. "Aaaaah...and the belladonna root..." he said, putting the pieces together slowly.

 

"For her very special mug of sleeping tea. Yes. Oh, and speaking of which, have you found those roots yet?"

 

"Actually, yeah, I have. There's a huge patch of nightshade growing in the woods behind your house. I was thinking we could harvest them tomorrow."

 

"It's a date."

 

He chuckled. "Gardening with my lover as we plot to kill his ex. Now there's a sight to behold."

 

Jim cocked his head. "Weeeeeellllll, I don't know about a _sight_ but I can see that you're one right now."

 

"Yeah, all bandaged up. Hardly."

 

"No, I meant shirtless...muscled...fresh from the hunt...from a _kill_."

 

Seb's eyes went _dark_ , and he grinned, the gesture showing off the points of his teeth. "Ooh, _yes_. Shall I tell you how I dispatched her? After she cut me, of course. Quick snap of the neck. Then I went in...cutting through the skin and muscle, through the veins and arteries. Found the heart, scooped it out. Brought it back to you...my _master_ ," he said, his voice settling into a low rumble.

 

Jim could feel his mouth start to water. "Wrist deep in red...what a _sight_ you must have been," he purred, sauntering forward and splaying one hand gently against Seb's abdomen.

 

"If you had wanted anything else, would have been up to my elbows in it. It would still be under my fingernails, staining the creases of my palms and wrists, if I hadn't used gloves. The smell still thick around me: copper and iron and salt, steaming when it hit the pavement. Black on black on red, a slickness in the dark."

 

Jim's free hand clasped one of Seb's, bringing it to his nose. "Even with the gloves, the smell clings to you, Tiger."

 

"Yeah, but my own. Not that filth's."

 

"Hmmmmm, then I _like_ the smell of _your_ blood."

 

He chuckled, a grim, aroused sound. "Of course you would. Sometimes I wonder whether we got our nicknames right, that _you_ should be Tiger, not I."

 

"I'd be a wolf, Sebby...or a bird of prey even...or a shark. Oooooh yes, blood in the water, and all that."

 

Seb now laughed out loud, uproariously. "A Great White, since you're so pale. And I'd be a Tiger Shark."

 

Jim grinned, showing all his teeth. "Better watch out there, Tiger, or I'll _eat. You. Up_."

 

Seb purred. "A mutual feasting, then...since I feel like I could _devour_ you," he murmured, bending close to Jim's ear and nipping the lobe gently.

 

"Then why don't you? I'll patch you back up if you get hurt."

 

Taking no further encouraging than that, Seb dove in and attacked Jim's mouth, nipping harshly at his lips, darting his tongue in and out, clutching the smaller man to him. He ran his hands over every inch of his lover that he could get, wanting _more_ and _now_.

 

Jim _moaned_ and wound his arms around Seb's neck, giving back all that he could manage. This was something he'd never tire of, the frantic clash of teeth and lips and tongues that made his body heat and his trousers tighten. The older boy ground against Jim, feeling the already prominent bulge of his cock inside his trousers. He pulled away from the kiss to bite and suck at his neck, making sure to leave marks only under where the collar of his school shirt rested.

 

"OhdearchristTIGER!"

 

Seb purred, fisting a hand in Jim's hair and tilting his head back so he could lay claim to Jim's mouth again. He slid one hand down and palmed the lump in Jim's trousers, stroking gently upwards. The shorter boy hissed, rocking into the blonde's hand. "Yessssss, my Tiger...my love...so clever with your hands..."

 

Seb smirked and squeezed gently, then a bit more firmly. He paused to unbutton and unzip Jim's trousers and free his cock from the confines of his clothing, quickly doing the same for himself. Jim reached down and took them both in hand, lips twitching in a smirk as he realized that his hand was a bit small for the job. "Maybe some...help, Tiger."

 

He let out a guttural groan and nodded, wrapping his larger hands around Jim's and therefore around them both. The skin of both organs was hypersensitive, and he whimpered, rutting against his lover. The pale boy yanked them down onto the floor and straddled Seb as he ground down hard against the boy. "Too-damn-tall."

 

He chuckled which turned into a breathy sound of sheer need. "Not my fault you're - _ah_!- a short arse..."

 

Brown eyes narrowed as the smaller boy growled, leaning down to bite and suck one of Seb's nipples into his mouth. His laughter died in his throat, replaced by a keening noise as Jim lavished attention on his nipple. "Ahn! Ff-fuck, _Jim_..."

 

He worked the flesh with his tongue and teeth before biting again. Seb hissed and arched in pleasure and pain both. "Ooooh...oh _yes_..."

 

"Like that do you?" Jim purred as he kissed and licked his way to the other bud, bringing his free hand to tease the one he'd just worked

 

His breath was sobbing in his throat. "Oh God yes Jim," he moaned. He slid his hand down to cup them both together once more, rolling his hips upwards to remind Jim just what they both were after. The boy whimpered and moaned, rocking up into the heat of Seb's hand as he lavished the skin under his lips with an almost reverent attention, learning in intimate detail what made Seb hiss and moan and gasp out for more.

 

Sebastian could finally bear it no more; he flipped them both so he was straddling Jim now. He still thrust against him, but he bent his head to reciprocate the ministrations that Jim had been performing on him. The genius twisted and arched up into Seb, his eyes wide as he gasped in pleasure. "Oh God, Oh my Sebby."

 

Seb grinned and purred, scraping his teeth against Jim's skin even as he tightened his grip around them both slightly.

 

"More...oh more _please_ , my Tiger"

 

He added a roll of his hips as he began to stroke them both, his breath coming in gasps as his hands moved over the overheated flesh. "God, Jim...you feel...so _good_..."

 

Every nerve in Jim's body felt like it was on fire, especially the part wrapped up in his lover's larger hand. "So-do-you."

 

Seb rumbled a purr and attached his mouth to Jim's neck, sucking and biting at the pulse point, pulling him closer to him with his free hand; Jim's skin tasted amazing, slightly sweaty with the exertion of lust but clean all the same. The younger boy shrieked and growled, leaning away from Seb's mouth to make it easier for him to work. He knew he'd have a mark but he didn't care at that moment. When he was satisfied with his handiwork: a large, dark reddish-purple mark that was livid against the paleness of Jim's skin (able to be hidden by the collar of his shirts, though), he relinquished his hold on Jim's neck and kissed his way down to his collarbone. He kept up his ministrations on their erections, feeling his breath beginning to come shorter, Jim's as well. "You...close?" he panted.

 

"Y-y- _yes_ ," Jim whined, thrusting up into Seb's hand. "So close...my perfect Tiger..."

 

"Then come for me..." he murmured into Jim's ear before claiming his lips roughly, squeezing firmly and stroking them both. His cry of ecstasy was lost in his lover's mouth as their tongues danced and their hips jerked and bucked against each other in their throes of pleasure.

 

"Yes-yes-SEBBY!" Jim cried into the blonde's mouth as he shuddered with the force of his climax; he would never, _ever_ take the other's voice for granted again.

 

"Nnnnnnh... _James_..." he groaned, his voice low and rough, fingernails reflexively digging into his lover's back as he rode out his orgasm. Both of them were now filthy; sweating, shaking and covered in each other's release. "Fuck...God, I _love_ you..."

 

"I love-you too-my right hand-my assassin-my Tiger."

 

Seb kissed him, slowly, smolderingly. "And you...my perfect mastermind, my master, my Magpie," he said, his voice fervent and sincere.

 

"Mmmmhmhmhmh," Jim chuckled into the kiss. "Now...go clean up while I finish down here."

 

He pressed quick kisses along Jim's jaw. "All right. Hurry, though, can't sleep well without you," he said as he tucked himself back into his trousers and wiped his messy hand on a disposable rag.

 

Jim watched him go as he picked himself up off the floor and wiped down before zipping his trousers. "Neither can I," he murmured as he turned to check on the heart. It would need to soak overnight to be on the safe side, so he closed up the container and placed it in the fridge before locking down the lab and following after Sebastian.

 

oOoOo

 

Seb turned on the shower, then cursed; he couldn't go in and risk getting the bandages wet. So after standing there for a few moments, his brain sparked with another idea. He plugged the drain and drew a bath instead, making sure that the water level wouldn't reach the gauze and tape. He sighed in pleasure as he sank into the hot water.

 

Jim slipped up the stairs and silently into his room, stripping swiftly and sneaking through Seb's room and into his bathroom. Even though his eyes were closed and his head was leaned back against the porcelain of the tub, he could hear the soft footsteps and the closing of the door. "Care to join me?" he asked, not opening his eyes. He wasn't a good 'hunter' just because of his quick killing abilities.

 

"Thought you'd never ask."

 

"Then come on. Into the tub with you."

 

"Oi! Don't order me about. That's my job."

 

Seb laughed. "Not an order...merely a...strong suggestion," he said.

 

"Strong suggestions are normally accompanied by liberal amounts of begging. And I haven't heard any," Jim retorted, perching on the edge of the tub.

 

He sighed and opened his eyes. "Please...join me in the bath?" he murmured.

 

"That's more like it." Jim swung his legs over the side and dipped his toes into the water. Seb slid back a little farther to allow Jim space to settle in between his long legs.

 

Jim went slowly, letting the water cover him inch by inch until he was submerged and leaning back against Seb's chest. He hissed at the contact against his wound, but he didn't care. He wrapped his arms around Jim's torso and pressed soft kisses along the line of his shoulders and the back of his neck, breathing in his lover's scent, the one that was still combined with his own.

 

"Mmmmmmm, that's nice, Sebby."

 

He made a rumbling noise of assent and cast about for a washcloth and soap, lathering it up and washing Jim's back with long, slightly rough strokes. Jim's back arched slightly as he shivered in the warm water.

 

Seb, of course, noticed this. He chuckled. "What, does this turn you on?" he asked as he continued his motions.

 

"Maybe," Jim pouted.

 

"Reeeeally," Seb drawled, slowing his strokes on Jim's back as well, moving his soapy free hand around the front to tweak at Jim's nipples.

 

"Hey!" Jim yelped, squirming and twisting in Seb's grip.

 

"Don't like that much?" he asked. He was slowly learning what Jim liked or didn't like in bed...most of the time, they were too violent to care.

 

"I like it just fine. They're just...sore."

 

"Oh? Hmm..." he mused, returning up to tweak them gently, running his fingers over and around them instead of being rough as he usually was. Jim swallowed hard and gripped the sides of the tub; the amount of pleasure just from that single act was starting to render his brain offline. Seb smirked into Jim's skin and began pressing long, slow kisses to the back of his shoulders and neck as he went and trailed his other hand down underneath the water, just barely brushing Jim's sex.

 

"S- _Sebby_..."

 

"Mmm?" he rumbled against Jim's back. If his lover wanted something, he'd have to _tell_ him what he _wanted_.

 

"S-still...sensitive..." he whimpered as his head hit Seb's shoulder.

 

"I can be gentle," he murmured hoarsely into Jim's ear. Once more, he just _barely_ brushed his fingertips against the sensitive skin of Jim's cock.

 

The pale boy _moaned_ into Seb's neck. "Not...fucking...fair..."

 

He chuckled again. "Life, unsurprisingly, is not fair, my love," he whispered, moving downwards again and gripping his lover's now-hardening arousal with one hand, brushing over Jim's nipples with the other.

 

"I-I can't-you are- _Seeebbbyyyyyy_ -"

 

Seb outright laughed at Jim's whine, but he chose to forego the laughter to nip and suck at the skin at the base of his neck, beginning to work Jim in long, smooth strokes, his other hand playing with both of his lover's nipples. " _Mine_..." he growled into Jim's ear.

 

The younger boy's eyes went wide in arousal and shock before shutting tight, his body twitching intermittently as slow waves of pleasure rolled up and down his body between Seb's hands. The blonde began to pick up speed, squeezing and stroking firmer now, running his fingertips over the sensitive head, licking along his lover's skin while his hands were otherwise occupied.

 

"C-can't _think_...S-S- _Seb_ -love-Tiger-"

 

"Then don't _think_. Just _feel_ , Magpie-love."

 

"B-b-but-"

 

"But nothing. Not gonna hurt you. And I'm here, I've got you. Let go..."

 

" _Too much_..."

 

He removed one of his hands, the one playing with the skin of Jim's chest, and he stopped kissing along his shoulder blades, but to make up for the lack of stimulus, he murmured sweet nothings into his ear...

 

"God, Jim...you're so hot and hard for me. I love the way you feel. And the way you look when you're about to come...? Just serves to work me up more. I love so much about you. Your mind, your voice, your touch...just _everything_."

 

When he finally felt Jim beginning to jerk and twitch underneath his touch, he took the opportunity to return his hands to his chest. And, as the final catalyst, he put his mouth once more to Jim's ear. "Come for me, Magpie. Let me feel you let go."

 

Jim was a quivering mess beneath Sebastian by the time he finished speaking, so when the man gave his command, Jim just let go, sobbing Seb's name as he felt his body explode.

 

"That's my love...that's my good Magpie," Seb crooned into Jim's ear as he gave him one last, firm squeeze.

 

" _Sebby...Sebby_ ," Jim gasped as he went completely limp in the other man's arms, curling against him. He pressed soft kisses into Jim's hair before tilting his head and claiming his lips with his own.

 

The boy accepted the kisses, letting Seb lead since he was utterly spent. He did however reach for and pull the plug for the tub with his toe. "Need new water."

 

Seb laughed. "After that, yeah, we do."

 

"Letting you do it. Too tired."

 

Still laughing, he turned on the hot water and plugged the drain once more, letting it fill up significantly before turning on the cold water to balance out the temperature a bit. Jim shifted onto his side so that he was curled up more against his lover than leaning on him as the water became almost a blanket for him. Seb sighed in contentment as he held Jim. They sat there for he didn't know how long, until the water went cold and his hands and feet went all pruny.

 

"Bedtime, Tiger," Jim said, shivering.

 

"Indeed," he replied, his teeth chattering. He drained the tub and helped Jim out before stepping out himself, wrapping towels around them both before leading him into his room so he could change and turn down the covers.

 

Jim pulled his sleeping pants out from under Seb's pillow before locking all the doors so they wouldn't be disturbed. "How would you like me, Tiger?"

 

"Just...holding you. Holding you while we both fall asleep," Seb said, a trifle sheepish.

 

"Dawwwww, Tiger's all cuddly," Jim teased, nearly falling over as his legs threatened to give out while he put on his pajamas.

 

Seb raised an eyebrow. "And Magpie's all wobbly. C'mere, you," he said after Jim had managed to struggle on his pajamas, scooping him up.

 

"Oi! put me down!!"

 

Seb chuckled again and laid Jim down on the bed. "Just tucking you in, dear," he said as he drew the sheets and duvet over his lover before crawling in next to him. The younger boy growled playfully, batting at Seb's arm. He snorted and just drew the smaller boy into his arms, nuzzling against his skin and sighing contently.

 

"So, why'd you get me off twice and you only got off once, huh?"

 

"'Cause I like watching you let go, lose yourself..." Seb admitted.

 

"Hmmmmmm, interesting."

 

" _Especially_ at my hands," he added, grinning toothily.

 

Jim felt his face redden slightly. "Well, I think you've forgotten something, Tiger."

 

"Oh? And what's that?"

 

The pale face smirked. "A Magpie's _tongue_."

 

Seb raised an eyebrow. "Can hardly forget your tongue since you _talk_ so fucking much," he murmured.

 

"No, I meant what the tongue is for. You see, Sebby," Jim said, leaning over to kiss the man's chest, "the tongue is a very useful organ, necessary in singing, talking, kissing...and this," he finished, tugging Seb's pants down just enough that he could begin to kiss and lick the boy's length

 

Every nerve ending Seb had suddenly went alight. "JesusFUCK!" he hissed, his head arching back into the pillows, eyes closed, hands fisted into the sheets as he writhed under Jim's clever tongue. Jim was impressed by how quickly Seb hardened under his mouth as he continued to kiss and lick and suck and stroke, teasing the man beneath him.

 

"Nnnnn- JimmyMagpieLove _please_..." he moaned, thrusting his hips up to meet the teasing movements from his lover. " _Please_ don't tease..."

 

"Why not? You were before. I'm just repaying in kind."

 

"I -ah- didn't tease you much!"

 

Jim slipped down to take one of the blonde's balls into his mouth, sucking on it gently and nodding; Seb whimpered, the sound sobbing in his throat. "Oh... oh _Jim_..."

 

He chuckled and tugged with his teeth before releasing it and moving to the other, taking his time. Seb hissed and cursed and groaned, but he knew that no matter what he did or said, it wouldn't make Jim go any faster. The bastard, the wonderful glorious bastard who should keep doing things like _that_ with this tongue! Sweet merciful God, that just wasn't _fair_. When Jim released the second testicle, he heard Seb's groan. "Finished already?"

 

"N-no...but _please_ Jim, I'm so close..."

 

"And why would I want the fun to be over so soon? This must be a record, Tiger. Two minutes?"

 

"Keyed up from...- _hahn_!- th-the bath."

 

"Oooooooooh...got all worked up with no place to go."

 

"Nnh... 'cause y-you're more - _ah_!- important than I am. You come first. Literally."

 

Jim raised his head and stared straight into the blue eyes blown black. "I'm not more important," he said, sitting back on his heels.

 

"You are to me," Seb said sincerely, staring back.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because...I've never felt this way for _anyone_ before. I said that I'd take a bullet to the brain for you, and I meant it. I wouldn't go out and fetch a heart for just _anyone_. Only _you_."

 

His brown eyes shone as he leaned back in and swallowed Seb in one go, squeezing his base hard to make it last. Seb nearly screamed at the sensation of being swallowed to the hilt and denied at the same time, thrusting up into Jim's hot, wet mouth. Slowly removing his hand, Jim took Seb in as far as he could and swallowed, pinning the man's hips to the mattress. The older boy started whimpering. " _Please_... Jim... Oh God, _please_..." he begged, wanting to come so bad that he knew that when it _did_ come, it would be nearly explosive.

 

He began to move, licking and suckling at the hot flesh in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the head before sliding back down almost to the base. Seb could feel the heat building in his gut and his balls tightening. "God...so _close_ ," he whispered hoarsely, wanting to give Jim some warning beforehand.

 

Jim pulled off long enough to say, "Let me drink up every. Last. Drop," before taking just the head between his lips and lavishing it with attention.

 

Gasping, he let go. "Oh...oh/ _God_! Jim! JimJimJim, my love and only," he yelled as he came, arching upwards, his vision going white. Jim took hold of Seb's member and stroked it gently as he tried to co-ordinate swallowing and breathing through his nose, making Seb shudder. He finally pulled off and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, smiling up at the blonde.

 

"J-jesus Fucking _Christ_ ," Seb gasped, eyes fluttering open.

 

"Better?" Jim said with an innocent smile.

 

Seb snorted. "You know it,"

 

"Oh, I do. I just swallowed it all up," he purred, licking his lips as he crawled back up Seb's body.

 

The blonde boy shuddered a bit and held Jim close, reveling in his warmth. "C'mon, Magpie-love. Bedtime," he murmured softly.

 

"I suppose."

 

"Tired Tiger. Hunting, getting stabbed and retrieving the heart, not to mention getting you off. Twice."

 

"Well, I got you off twice as well. Call it even." The pale boy stroked his fingers through Seb's damp curls. "Sleepytime for Sebby, Jim'll watch you as you sleep and keep you safe."

 

"Okay," Seb murmured, snuggling into the warmth of his lover's body, practically purring as Jim's clever fingers went through his hair..

 

" _Hush-a-bye Sebby, don't say a word. Jim is gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Jim'll slit it's throat and crown himself king._ "

 

Seb snorted. "A'course you'd fix the words," he muttered, his eyes drooping shut.

 

"Just for you. _And if that king should lose his crown, why he'll burn the whole of London down._ "

 

Seb fell asleep in the middle of the third verse, his breathing deep and even, lulled by Jim's warmth, heartbeat, and voice.

 

" _And once London is burned to the ground, Jim'll hold you close, all safe and sound._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and when Jim is bandaging Sebby up in the lab...yeah, we kind of stole (Borrowed! Borrowed without permission but with every intention of giving it back) the format of that from "Beauty and the Beast," so all rights to that go to Disney.
> 
> Again, we own nothing of anything. We're just two friends with a fuckload of ideas.
> 
> Cheers


	9. Spring Break- Young Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after for Sherlock and Molly

Molly stirred in her sleep, half on the verge of waking; there was a draft, and then a warmth that she felt encircle her. She was fully awake now, still a bit disoriented from coming back to consciousness. The surroundings weren't familiar, but the scent was, and the arm that was draped over her waist, clutching her closely was familiar as well. She turned her head and saw who exactly was next to her, her heart skipping a beat.

 

 _Sherlock_.

 

Her English professor.

 

Memories of the night before came flooding back: her disguise in the streets, bumping into him, him taking her back to his flat. The argument...and then...their lovemaking, giving into the passion that consumed them both, no matter how wrong it was for them to be doing so. She shivered a little; there was no going back now, the bridges had been burned. She snuggled closer to him, taking in his warmth and his sleeping face. She felt a rush of tenderness go through her. He looked so unguarded, so much less careworn when asleep, softer, younger. She pressed a soft kiss to the skin of his bare chest, resting her forehead there as she tried to sort out her mind.

 

The smell was what woke him first, something distinctly floral mixed with old paper and leather-bound books. As Sherlock came around, then next thing he took in was the warmth and softness of the person in his arms, soft lips on his chest...

 

His eyes snapped open as he squinted in the morning light and took in the sight of Molly Hooper in his arms. Her hair was mussed and crimped from a combination of the pins and his fingers and sleep. "Good morning."

 

She had to smile. "Good morning," she replied softly, looking up at him.

 

Sherlock felt his throat go dry; he had no idea how things were supposed to work now. "How did you sleep?" he asked, feeling slightly foolish for resorting to such a mundane question.

 

She chuckled slightly. "I slept well. And you?"

 

"I believe I can say the same."

 

"Good." She held him closer and sighed, smiling. She couldn't believe that it had actually happened, that they were joined by more than a kiss now.

 

"So...what happens now?"

 

Molly hesitated. "I...I honestly don't know. We go back to school tomorrow. And from there...we should stick to notes. Until the school year is over, I mean. Which...will be difficult," she said, frowning. As much as she hated to be away from him, it was probably the wisest course of action. But then..."Unless we can figure out ways to meet. Without anyone knowing."

 

Sherlock thought about it for a moment. "It would be a simple matter to slip each other notes as you hand in your assignments, both homework and class work..."

 

"That's a good idea. Risky, but good."

 

"Do you have another suggestion? All of our plans and possibilities will have an element of risk simply based on the nature of our relationship. I have yet to figure out a suitable way of getting you out of here this morning without attracting too much attention."

 

She flushed. He was right, as usual. "Is there a back door? I still have all of the things for...ah...'Matthew'. Go out the back, through an alley and be on my way..." she said, half to herself.

 

"Yes...you'll have to go through the flat on the first floor, 221A, but my landlady won't return until tomorrow if our luck holds."

 

Molly nodded. "All right. I need to get dressed," she said, although she didn't want to sit up. She forced herself to, breaking the circle of warmth that was his arms. She sighed as she surveyed the trail of clothes and got out of the bed to pick them up.

 

Sherlock watched her for a moment before, "Wait."

 

She paused and half-turned towards him. "What?"

 

"I-I don't" He could feel his face heating up and cursed. "You shouldn't feel like I'm throwing you out. If I'm being rude...if I'm being unkind to you in any way, you ought to speak up and say so."

 

She smiled and walked over to him, kissing him soundly and sweetly on the mouth. "Don't worry...I'll tell you," she murmured.

 

He drank in the kiss, his arms slipping around her back to hold her close. She sighed into his mouth as he held her, winding her arms around his shoulders, relishing the feeling of his skin against hers.

 

"I love you," Sherlock whispered.

 

Molly thrilled to hear him say it. "I love you too," she whispered back, kissing him once more. She could feel her heart speed and swell with the feeling, with just how _much_ she loved him. He kissed her twice more before pulling back and giving her a hesitant smile.

 

She was loath to break the kisses. But she glowed when she saw him smile, and pressed two fleeting ones to the corners of his mouth. "You should smile more often," she said as she rested her forehead against his, idly playing with the ends of his hair.

 

"I've not really had reason to until now."

 

Molly flushed brilliantly. "Well...I'm glad you finally have one," she said as she disengaged herself from him to finish retrieving her clothes, locking the knowledge that _she_ made him smile away in her heart and mind both, smiling widely herself.

 

"As am I," he mused while he watched her dress.

 

She had pulled on her pants and jeans and was busy binding herself. She made a small noise of frustration when she couldn't find the pins that held the bandages in place. "Sherlock...could you help me?" she asked as she looked around for them.

 

"You need safety pins?" he asked as he rose, remembering two seconds after the sheet fell away that he was naked. Warmth spread through his chest and neck as he retrieved pins from his side table and went to help her.

 

She couldn't help but admire the fine figure that her lover cut, her lips curling into a smile as she watched the play of muscles under his pale skin. "Yeah, safety pins," she said, when she finally registered that he had asked her a question.

 

Sherlock helped Molly hold the bandages in place and wrap her bosom tight before pinning them. "How's that?"

 

She had to swallow hard at the feeling of his fleeting touches over her skin. When everything was secure, she cast an eye over herself. She looked like, well, a boy. "Perfect," she said, satisfied.

 

"What about your hair, my sweet Ophelia?"

 

She found her cap with all of its hairpins and accoutrements in it. "Just have to pin it all up. Which is a little time consuming, seeing how long it is," she mused. Then she made a face. "Don't like doing that, hurts my head," she muttered as she ran her hands through her flowing locks, massaging her scalp slightly from where it was still a bit tender from yesterday's pins.

 

"Let me," and before he'd realized it, Sherlock was running his hands through her hair, working out the knots and tangles and gently rubbing her scalp; Molly's relaxation was visible in her face as he worked, leaning in to kiss her as he did.

 

She uttered a small, strangled gasp as she felt his fingers work through her hair, against her scalp; her eyes fluttered shut and her knees went weak. "That... that feels amazing," she said.

 

His lips twitched and he pressed a kiss to her ear. "I'm glad."

 

She purred and leaned her head back into his touch more, reveling at his strong hands and fingers, remembering how they felt holding her last night.

 

"Sit down, love."

 

She half-stumbled but did so, sinking into a chair as he worked.

 

"Turn around"

 

She turned, wondering what he was up to. But she didn't really mind or care, as long as he kept doing what he was doing. Sherlock leaned down and peppered her neck with kisses as he reached for one of the pins. "Hold the cap up a little higher," he murmured.

 

She gasped as she felt his lips on her skin and did as he asked, lifting the cap with its pins and clips up higher so he could easily reach it. With his mouth still on her skin, Sherlock deftly pulled a few locks of her hair together, braiding and twisting them until they were wrapped close against her skull, pinning them in place and starting on the next braid. She sat silently as he worked, feeling his fingers move deftly, his breath against her neck. She closed her eyes, allowing him and his touch to become her focal point, her anchor.

 

It took several minutes before Sherlock accomplished braiding her hair, pulling out strategically placed pins to braid and gather the smaller pieces together so that when he finished, they would be completely hidden by her cap.

 

"Where'd you learn to braid?" she asked, almost half-asleep again from the work he did.

 

"It's not that difficult...and, well, when I was younger, it was my task to braid Mummy's hair in the morning before school, usually so she could spend the time questioning me about my life and gleaning what she would from my responses."

 

She smiled. "A mummy's boy, then?" she teased gently.

 

He growled, nipping at her throat as he put the final pin in place. "It was a task I endured until I was able to escape that wretched place. Now I only return for birthdays and Christmas, only because Mycroft would come here and drag me with him if I refused."

 

She shivered and gasped as he nipped her skin. "No, I...I think that's nice. That you did that for her," she said.

 

"It was a job, a requirement, nothing more."

 

"Still nice," she said as she took her cap and put it on her head. The transformation from Molly to Matthew was complete.

 

"I must say, love, you are rather convincing."

 

She chuckled hoarsely, lowering her voice. "Thanks, mate," she said, standing up.

 

Sherlock took his blue robe from the door of his wardrobe and slipped it on. "Follow me."

 

She did so, following him to the door of his flat. She watched as he opened the door and looked out, glancing for anyone who may have been watching, before he led her to the downstairs flat of 221 A.

 

Sherlock moved swiftly as he took her through his landlady's flat, to the kitchen and the back door. Before he let her go, he pulled the girl in for a quick, scorching kiss. "Until Tuesday, my love."

 

She kissed him back, feeling her nerves set alight by his mouth against hers, her fingers threading through his hair for one last burst of feeling. "Until Tuesday," she panted once he had released her lips.

 

The professor opened the door and glanced out. "Now. It's clear."

 

She exited, before turning and giving him one last look before she hit the streets, on her lonely way homeward. She could hardly wait until Tuesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next used to be one, but it worked better for them to be split. Mormor up next!


	10. Spring Break- Hide and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last day of break for Jim and Seb...time to get that belladonna

"Seb. Wake up."

 

The taller, blonde boy groaned. "Dun' wanna," he muttered as he rolled over.

 

"Seeebbbbbbyyyyyyy," Jim sang into the boy's ear before kissing it, tracing the shell with the very tip of his tongue. "I'll poke you with my stick again if you don't."

 

He shivered, the feeling of his lover's warm, wet tongue along the outside of his ear enough to wake him fully. "A'right, a'right, I'm up," he said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, his curls sticking up every which-way.

 

"Dawwwww, does my Tiger have pillow hair this morning?" Jim cooed, reaching up to run his fingers through the curls.

 

"Mebbe," he mumbled, leaning into Jim's touch. He sniggered as he looked at the smaller boy. "You got it too," he said, ruffling the fine dark hair that was sticking up something ridiculous.

 

"Do not."

 

That caused him to laugh aloud. "Do so! You look like a cockatoo!"

 

Jim's brow furrowed before he lunged and knocked Sebastian onto his back, the younger boy's pale hands encircling and pinning the blonde's tan wrists above his head. "You sure about that?"

 

Seb smirked. "Yeah, sure."

 

The boy leaned down, making sure to keep his lips out of reach. " _Positive_?"

 

He rumbled a growl in his chest and throat. "Yeah, positive."

 

Jim huffed and released Seb, climbing off of him and heading for his closet. Seb's eye twitched as Jim let go and walked off. He sprang out of bed and followed his lover on silent bare feet, winding his arms around Jim's waist and pressing kisses to his shoulders and neck.

 

"Such a predictable little kitty," Jim purred, leaning back into the man's embrace.

 

"Oh I am, am I?" Seb murmured, his hands moving steadily southwards to brush gently above Jim's crotch.

 

"Only one thing on your mind," Jim replied, struggling to suppress a shudder of pleasure.

 

"Reeeeally," he drawled, trailing his fingers to the base of Jim's cock, barely touching it through the fabric of his pajama pants.

 

"Oh god... _Sebby_..."

 

He gently stroked against his lover, pressing him closer to him...and then he let go, turning around to get dressed. "Well, we should be off. Nightshade doesn't gather itself."

 

A low, feral growl tore from Jim's throat as he spun around and lunged for the larger boy. Seb smirked and evaded him easily. "What's the matter, Magpie? Cat got your tongue?" he taunted.

 

The boy turned on the spot and stood up, relaxing and glancing at his nails. "I'm perfectly capable of speech as you well know, Sebastian."

 

"Yeah, I know. C'mon, we should get this done. The sooner, the better."

 

Jim rolled his eyes. "Fine, but fast. I have plans for you later."

 

"Oh? Goody."

 

"Yes, I do. Now go get dressed. Bet you I can make it to the yard first."

 

There was no way he'd pass up a challenge like that. Seb dressed like lightening and put on his shoes as fast as he could, not even bothering to untie them. He raced Jim out the door, but his lover was just a hair faster and ahead of him. The younger boy jumped up and down on the spot as he flew out the door with Seb hot on his heels. "So _slow_ , Tiger-"

 

He stuck out his leg and pushed slightly, causing Jim to go off balance and fall right on his arse. "And you're so off _balance_ , Magpie," he said, smirking. "Now come on. It's _your_ dastardly plan that we need this for, after all."

 

"You're lucky I don't just knock you down and bury you in the garden," Jim muttered, climbing to his feet and brushing himself off as he followed Seb to the edge of the woods.

 

"Yeah, but you won't because you love me..." the older boy teased, turning to give him a smile before his face went serious and his eyes searched among the burgeoning greenery for the plant that he knew well.

 

"Don't tempt me, Tiger."

 

"Found it!" Seb cried triumphantly as he pushed ahead to a clump of leggy-looking plants. He chose a few and knelt in the dirt before turning slightly towards Jim. "How many do y'think you'll need?" he asked.

 

"As many as are required for a lethal dosage."

 

Seb pursed his lips and took seven plants, carefully uprooting them. "Here we are...just to be on the safe side," he murmured.

 

"Atropa belladonna... _perfect_...'seven for a secret never to be told...'" (1)

 

He smirked. "A beautiful lady. A befitting end for a chit of a girl," he said, brushing the excess dirt from the roots.

 

"Now then...since we've found what we're looking for...I believe it's time for us to have a little fun, my Tiger."

 

"Wait, have to get these stored properly first. Or else all your planning will be wasted. Store first, _then_ fun, my Magpie," Seb said.

 

" _Fine_ ," he huffed, stalking back toward the lab.

 

Seb followed his annoyed lover, carefully tucking away the plants in a dark, cool, damp place. "There, that should do it," he said once he was satisfied with his work.

 

Jim pulled out the container with the heart, satisfied with its progress. Carefully, he donned gloves and transferred the organ to the stainless steel container before replacing it in the fridge. "As should that."

 

The blonde couldn't help but give a gleeful snicker. "Things are coming together," he said.

 

"Ohhhhhh... _indeed._ "

 

Seb snorted at the unintentional innuendo that he had made. "Yes...shall we see just how well they are?" he murmured.

 

Jim reached out and traced his fingers lightly over the blonde's chest. A quick grin split his face before he was gone, tearing up the stairs. "Can't catch me!"

 

Seb sighed and closed his eyes. His lover could be so surprisingly childish at times. His eyes opened and went dark and he grinned, feral. The chase, and the game, was on.

 

oOoOo

 

Jim flew through the house, daring past tapestries and through the library. His heart was in his chest and the adrenaline could not compare to any other high...save one.

 

Seb stopped and cocked his head, listening to the footsteps. He tracked them in his mind. Hallways...tapestry room...library...aaaaaah. So that's where his Magpie was flying to. He loped along, his legs taking up the distance easily. Every so often he'd stop to listen before following again.

 

Jim paused in the library just long enough to leave Seb his shoes before ducking through the bookcase passage that led to the kitchens.

 

The tall, blonde boy followed him through the library, almost tripping over the shoes that Jim had left behind. He found the bookcase passage easily enough (the silly boy had left it cracked) and went down the narrow stairs and through the kitchens, along another corridor that looked like it didn't get used much.

 

Jim stripped out of his socks as he darted through the manor; he was positively gleeful at being hunted. After a few more moments, he found what he was looking for. Locking the door to the cupboard behind him, Jim flipped the light and then began uncovering what he found under all the drop cloths.

 

Seb almost tripped again, over Jim's socks this time. He got to a locked door at the end of the hallway and heard movement behind it. "Jiiiiiiim, let me in..." he said in a low sing-song voice through the wood of the door.

 

The boy froze, his heartbeat pounding through his entire body. Placing the final cloths on the floor, he called back, "Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin."

 

Seb snorted. "Going for fairytales now, love? Guess that makes me the Big. Bad. _Wolf,_ " he growled. He searched his pockets before he managed to find it: a simple straight pin. He grinned, showing off all his teeth. _Perfect_. He proceeded to kneel and pick the lock. Once he heard the metallic 'snick' of the tumblers giving way, he stood. "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff...and I'll _blow_ the door in," he intoned as he opened the door, its barely-used hinges complaining slightly.

 

Jim swallowed hard as Seb's voice sent chills through him. He shucked his shirt and discarded it in the corner as the door opened. "Suppose I should have gone for the house of bricks, then?"

 

Seb chuckled darkly. "Like that would have stopped me."

 

"Oh, it might have."

 

"I would have dismantled it, stone by stone."

 

"I'd find a bunker, barricade myself in."

 

"And I'd still find a way in," he said, shutting the door behind him, smiling as he heard the lock click home once more.

 

"How do you propose you'd do that, Tiger, hmmmmm? If I'd welded the door shut?"

 

"Then I'd take an explosive to it. I'd do anything I could to get to you."

 

"I have it rigged. Hallucinatory gas has filled the chamber and you have no gas mask." He took an unconscious step back

 

"Then I'd hold my breath and drag you out," he said, taking a predatory step towards Jim.

 

"You can't hold it long enough."

 

Seb took another step. "I'll take my chances."

 

"It's poison if you breathe it too long."

 

"I said I'll take. My. Chances." There was little distance between them now, and Seb was undoing his shirt, one button at a time.

 

"You'd _die_ , Tiger."

 

"Well then, I'll let you see to my funeral. Dying in your arms is the only way I'd want to go."

 

"You'd kill yourself for me, lose everything you clearly care about." Jim felt his back hit the wall as his lover loomed over him

 

"I would," he said into Jim's ear. "For you... _anything_."

 

"Well then," he whispered, "say you made it through all my little traps and games...what would you do once you caught me?"

 

Seb chuckled, more of a rumble in his throat. "Ohhh, what _wouldn't_ I do?" he said, nipping Jim's earlobe.

 

The boy ducked and danced away. "I want to _know_ , Sebby."

 

The taller boy's eyes went _dark_. "Strip you bare. Tie you up so you wouldn't be able to get away or touch yourself. And then..." he grinned. "Then I'd tease you. For _hours_. Until you were _begging_ for me to finish you off."

 

"Then why don't you?"

 

"Oh? So you _want_ me to?"

 

"I'd like to see you try."

 

Seb's grin grew feral. "Indeed," he said. There was a tense pause...and then he moved, quick as lightening. He managed to get behind his lover and use his own shirt to bind Jim's hands behind his back, tightly enough so he couldn't undo his bonds, but not so tight to cut off his circulation. "What were you saying about liking to see me _try_?"

 

The younger boy's eyes went wide as he tested his bonds; he tore for the door, fumbling with the lock for a few seconds before getting it to open. He shot Seb a grin. "Bye!"

 

Seb moved like water downhill, his movements quick and assured. He caught Jim and carried him backwards into the room, managing to catch the door before it closed and locked again. This time, he took Jim's trousers down, tangling them around his ankles so his legs were hampered and kicking the door home behind him. "Ooooh, no no no...that won't do at _all_ ," he murmured. "Trying to fly away so soon, Magpie? _Such_ a pity..."

 

Jim thrashed, trying to ignore the flashes of desire spiraling through him. "Just trying to give you a nice hunt, Tiger."

 

Seb chuckled, long and low. "Yesssssss, you did quite _nicely_ ," he hissed in Jim's ear before nipping at his neck, pressing his bare chest to his lover's.

 

"You f-found me too easily."

 

"Years of practice."

 

"Still not fair."

 

"Life isn't fair. Get used to it."

 

"Yes, that may be true, but I always get my way."

 

That caused Seb to laugh aloud. "Oh, you're such a spoiled _child_! What would happen if you _didn't_ get your way, hmm?" he asked Jim. "Would you scream and cry and thrash?" he murmured into his ear as he trailed his fingers down Jim's chest and into his lap.

 

Jim nearly choked on the saliva pouring into his mouth. "I would _fight_."

 

"Reeeeeally," he breathed against Jim's skin. "How nice." He brushed his fingers once more against his lover's cock through the fabric of his pants.

 

The pale boy whipped his head around, clonking his against Seb's cheek hard. He growled and his grip on Jim's skin tightened. "BAD idea," he said, and he bit down, hard, on Jim's shoulder, sinking his teeth into his lover's flesh.

 

"Seb!" Jim yelled, twisting in his grip.

 

Seb rumbled a purr into Jim's skin and loosened his grip on his lover's cock slightly, the touch becoming soft and teasing, coaxing him into hardness.

 

"Seeeebbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyyy," he whined, trying to rock into the rough, tanned hand.

 

"Hmmm?"

 

"Kiss me."

 

Seb released his shoulder and laughed in Jim's face. "No."

 

The brown eyes darkened. " _What_?"

 

"You heard me. I said _no_."

 

Jim lunged forward, overestimating his ability to maneuver and missing Seb's shoulder. The blonde caught Jim and pushed him back, keeping out of reach of his mouth and teeth. "See? Can't always get what you want."

 

"It's not what I want anymore, Moran. It's what I _need_ , Sebby, and I _need_ you!"

 

"Hmmmm..."

 

"What is it _now_ , Tiger?"

 

"Think you still need a lesson in patience."

 

Jim shot him a death glare. "You cruel, sadistic, teasing-"

 

"Sticks and stones, love. And, by extension, pot calling the kettle 'black.'"

 

He pouted and refused to look Seb in the eye. "What do you want?"

 

"Oh, to watch you twist and squirm, to watch you come undone, just as you've done to me." And, he added as if in afterthought, "I want to watch you _beg_."

 

"English gentlemen do not _beg_ ," he sniffed. (2)

 

"Except you're Irish."

 

"Labels, Seb."

 

"Accuracy, Jimmy," he said, brushing a teasing hand over the impressive bulge that tented the front of his lover's boxers.

 

"S-s-stop teasing."

 

"Hmmm...no _."_

 

"Sebastian fucking Moran-"

 

"James Moriarty," he purred into his lover's ear.

 

He shivered, eyes rolling back slightly. "You are an absolute prick."

 

"Takes one to know one."

 

"Always have to try and one-up me, do you?"

 

"Merely stating the _truth_ ," he said, punctuating the word with a squeeze.

 

Jim gasped. "Notfairneedmore!"

 

Seb, feeling generous, squeezed again, coupling it with a long, slow stroke. The pale boy let out a long, low moan. "Just...just like that."

 

Seb worked Jim's pants down so he was bare now, and continued to stroke and fondle him. "So... what do you _need_?" he murmured.

 

"You...you inside me...your tongue in my mouth...hands in my hair... _fill me, Sebby_."

 

Seb shuddered against him and groaned. He moved away so he could strip himself as quick as he could, freeing his own arousal before removing the 'bonds' at Jim's ankles and spreading his lover's legs, forcing him to wrap them around his hips. He ground against the smaller boy and slicked himself up, before slowly pressing into Jim's tight entrance. It was then that he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye; he finally noticed the large, freestanding mirrors and he groaned. "Oh God...that...watching myself fuck you...you watching yourself getting fucked my me...such a _dirty_ bird, aren't you?"

 

"And here I thought you were going to make me beg-ah!" The rest of Jim's sentence was cut off as Seb filled him completely. "And those...have been uncovered...since you walked in...see but don't observe...Tiger."

 

"Been too busy with- _nnh_ - _you_."

 

"Oh...so that's what y- _you_ look like..."

 

"Deep inside you? Yes. And that's what _you_ look like, accepting me...getting filled by me," he said, keeping himself still. He'd still make Jim beg.

 

"You're extremely hot like this...and why aren't you moving?"

 

Seb chuckled. "Because."

 

"Sebastian, you'd better start moving right now-"

 

"Or what?"

 

"I'll leave."

 

"Oh? A bit difficult seeing as-" here he pulled back, withdrawing nearly all the way, "I'm _inside_ you," he said, thrusting himself into Jim to the hilt.

 

Jim's breathing faltered and his eyes went wide. "Oh god...oh _fuck_..."

 

"Which is _exactly_ what I'm doing," he murmured into Jim's ear, making minute thrusts, just barely twitching his hips.

 

"Sebby...SebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebbySebby..." Jim chanted.

 

" _What_?" he breathed, his breath hot against his lover's skin.

 

"Moremoremoremoremoremoremore..."

 

"More _what_?"

 

"More _you_."

 

"Perhaps..." he said, still keeping his thrusts barely there.

 

"P-please," the smaller boy whispered.

 

"Hm? Didn't catch that," Sebastian said, fighting a grin.

 

Jim raised his eyes to glare straight at Seb. "Too bad, you know how I hate to repeat myself."

 

"Awww, Magpie's got his feathers ruffled," he said, grinning, drawing back and just resting there, half in and half out of Jim.

 

"NO! SEBASTIAN!"

 

"Hm?" he said, pulling out more.

 

"Stop! Stop! All right!"

 

He stopped, the tip barely resting inside of Jim.

 

"F-fuck me... _please_ , Tiger."

 

"Of course, Magpie," he said, and drove himself all the way to the hilt inside of Jim.

 

"SEB!" he shrieked, his head lolling to one side so he could watch.

 

He followed Jim's gaze and groaned as he saw him fucking Jim, making him pull back and snap his hips again, just to watch the play of lust and pleasure across both of their faces.

 

"Oh JESUS! Seb-my Seb...oh fucking hell, do that again."

 

"/ _Gladly_ /," he said, and complied, groaning as he buried himself inside of his lover.

 

There were too many things to focus on: Seb above him, Seb in the mirror, his own reflection, his wrists underneath him. He tightened his grip around Seb's waist, using his heels to drive the man deeper. Seb gasped and arched more into Jim as he felt his ankles link around his waist and drive him deeper. He sped his pace. "God...just... _nh_...Jim... I...- _ah_!- love you."

 

"And... _ohfuck_...love you...Tiger... _my_ Tiger!"

 

He hissed through his teeth. "Yes... _yours_. Always _yours_..." he said, before moving a hand down to stroke Jim's cock in time with his thrusts.

 

" _Hannnnnnnnh_...ohgodyes...perfect Tiger...want your lips..."

 

Seb complied and claimed Jim's mouth roughly with his own, his other hand moving to wind in Jim's hair, yanking it back so he could better slant his lips over his lover's. The boy growled and kissed back hard, gasping for air and for more as he felt fire pour through his abdomen. "Gonna...g-gonna..."

 

 "Come for me, my love, my only. Let me hear my name on your lips. _Scream_ for me..." Seb growled as he thrust faster and stroked harder.

 

"S-S-SEBASTIAN!" Jim screamed as he came, eyes screwed up as the chemicals flooded his brain and everything became over-sensitive. "SebbyTiger..."

 

Seb groaned as he felt Jim's muscles contract around him and he let himself go as well, pouring into his lover. "Jim... _haaaanh_...oh _God_..." he cried, half whimpering.

 

"J-just like that, S-Sebby...exactly l-like that...My Tiger...my pet..."

 

He nuzzled into Jim before slipping out of him, cleaning them both up with a conveniently placed rag. He untied Jim's hands and helped massage the feeling back into them.

 

"Fucking hell," Jim groaned as Seb worked his wrists. "Shouldn't tie my wrists behind me anymore unless you're taking me from behind..."

 

"Will remember that for the future," he said, chuckling.

 

"I bet you will."

 

He began to dress himself, then help Jim with his clothes. "C'mon, Jim. Let's go get something to eat. I'm _starving_."

 

"Ooooh, what does the Tiger want to eat?"

 

"Food. Don't care, _food_."

 

"Need to be more specific or I'll just feed you salt."

 

Seb wrinkled his nose and made a face. "Ylech. I dunno... how do you feel about pancakes and bacon...?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)- From the song "Magpie" by Patrick Wolf
> 
> (2)- Yeah, borrowed that line from Peter Pan
> 
> And now we should be back to the regular school year, and the drama is just gonna keep getting better.


	11. Midnight Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tuesday they return, and Jim can see the difference in Molly...it is time to pick a day for the burning heart.

Molly had to hide a smile as she walked into her last class of the day on Tuesday. It felt as if it had been _ages_ since she saw Sherlock last. She flushed.. the last time they had met...it had been an experience to be sure: the first time they had made love. She blushed deeper as she remembered him inside of her and forced herself to think of something different, anything different. They were starting a new play, and she had to focus. Jim arrived only moments after Molly did, greeting her amiably enough, but he noticed instantly that something was different; it took him a few moments to place the difference in her as he retrieved his materials for class. She clearly had a new boyfriend and had gotten laid over the break, towards the end of it by the look of her. She greeted Jim, pleasant, but distracted; she was lost in thought again. "How was your break?" she asked him, half-focused on her work and half-focused on watching the door.

 

"Got quite a bit of aerobic exercise and did some forestry. All in all, relaxing. And you?"

 

"Went on some walks through the city, nothing eventful. Relaxing as well," Molly replied. Then Sherlock walked into the room, and she flicked her eyes over him, briefly, before settling on her work again, a faint blush staining her cheeks. She had forgotten that Jim was still watching her.

 

 _Well, well,_ well, the boy thought. _So the little chit_ did _go for her professor, and it would certainly seem that he went for her as well_. He fought to keep the grin off his face as he looked down at his books.

 

Sherlock deliberately did not look up at Molly and greeted both students as he was going through his papers for the day. He slipped his note for Molly underneath the calendar on his desk to keep it well hidden. Molly blushed more, and began to doodle aimlessly on the margins of her paper; random curlicues and swirls, trying to keep her mind occupied on _safer_ matters than the last time she and her professor had met.

 

A million things were running rampant through Jim's mind: images, dreams, possible things whispered or said or done, and if Holmes's ignoring them was any indication, it had meant a great deal to him.

 

oOoOo

 

Class had not gone this slowly all semester, not nearly as drawn out and dull as this. Sherlock had hoped that the fighting and innuendo of the first two acts of the new play would help inspire his students but, as he'd seen time and time again, only Jim and Molly showed any true interest...but he did get to look forward to slipping Molly her note

 

Molly sighed as the clock ticked on, dragging its feet. As usual, she and Jim were the only ones who showed any real interest or passion for the art and craft of Shakespeare, most of their peers choosing to doodle or text under their desks (less of that now...only the truly _stupid_ did that, because Professor Holmes could see in a heartbeat who was texting or not) instead of trying to answer a question. Finally, it was almost time for the papers from before the break to be passed back, signaling the end of the class period.

 

Sherlock called on Donovan to pass back the pre-break exams before announcing the customary "Hand me your class work before you leave" statement and taking his seat. Molly got top marks as always (but was just under Jim's score. Again... as always) and stood to pass in her assignment about the first act of Romeo and Juliet.

 

It was quick and careful, Sherlock accepting her paper and slipping the note into her hand. "Afternoon, Miss Hooper."

 

She swallowed hard as she felt the note pressed into her palm. "Good afternoon, Professor Holmes," she murmured softly, before she swept out of the room. Her head was full of thoughts, buzzing and blazing, and her stomach and chest were full of butterflies. She could hardly wait until she could get it open and read it.

 

oOoOo

 

Molly forced herself to wait until she returned to her dorm and shut the door before opening the note clutched in her hand. She allowed herself a moment to admire the spiky, slanted, elegant handwriting on the front ( _Midnight Willow_ ) before opening it.

 

_Ophelia, to you I write my song_

_Such humble words as these profess my love._

_Since finding you amidst what's right and wrong_

_To live without you, now, is undreamed of._

 

_E'er since your frozen lips first brushed with mine,_

_You've graced my barren mind with thoughts of spring,_

_And when in love's embrace we do recline,_

_Your prayers and cries do set the room to ring._

 

_But though it's you that sets my heart aflame_

_And fills my very soul with true desire_

_It is in vain I try my thoughts to tame_

_And I fear thee shall be my fun'ral pyre._

 

_So pull me from the edge of that abyss._

_Seal our eternal love with just one kiss._

 

Her eyes went wide and she flushed a bright red. She couldn't stop herself from smiling like a giddy schoolgirl. He had written a _sonnet_. For _her_. She clasped the piece of paper to her breast as if she could absorb the words written on the paper into her heart.

 

oOoOo

 

"It's Professor Holmes"

 

"Hm? What about him?" Seb said, half-listening, reading over his psychology homework.

 

"Who Mol... _Kitten_ is seeing, and shagging by the looks of things. Honestly, Sebastian, do you ever pay attention?"

 

His attention was fully captured now. "Oh _really_? Well, well, well...that _does_ work out nicely," he said, grinning.

 

"Oh _now_ he listens. The big cat is all ears once shagging is involved."

 

Seb rolled his eyes. "Human condition, Jim dear. So, she just couldn't keep her hands to herself, hm? This just is too _good_."

 

"I do believe it is time for a minor conflagration, and it is just my luck that Professor Hodart has cancelled Maths on Thursday. And I concur; it is in fact _too_ _good_ , my fearless Tiger."

 

Seb's grin widened and became more feral. "Burn the heart from them both." Then his expression grew serious. "Be careful, Magpie. Don't want you getting caught."

 

Jim gave him a look. "What do you think I am, stupid? Inexperienced? I'm nothing if not subtle, Sebby."

 

He scowled. "No need to get surly. I just...I worry."

 

"I'm not being surly. I'm just asking why you're an idiot."

 

Seb glared at him. "Well, fuck you. I'm concerned about you, and you call me an idiot. I see how it is."

 

There were a few moments of tense silence when Seb clearly refused to look even in the general vicinity of the genius. Jim slowly walked forward to where the blonde was seated at his desk. "Seb? Sebbbyyyyyyyy?" He wrapped his arms around the man's neck and pressed a kiss to the skin just behind his ear. "Come on, Tiger...Daddy was kidding."

 

The taller, older boy sighed. "Right. But, as Burns once so aptly said, 'the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray'. I just...get out of there in time."

 

"Quit worrying. I'll be just fine, my love."

 

"All right, whatever you say, Boss. Give us a kiss?"

 

"Why Sebby, I thought you'd never ask."

 

Seb chuckled and tilted his head back to allow Jim access to his lips. The younger boy ran his fingers through the soft, blonde curls before claiming Sebs mouth for his own, sweeping his lips open and exploring his lover's mouth, drawing a deep moan from the older boy.

 

"Mmmhhhh...missed you today," Sebastian murmured once they broke the kiss for a breath of air.

 

"As did I, you sexy beast," he purred, pressing kisses along Seb's jaw and to his ear.

 

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. Your sex Tiger."

 

"Wanna have a go before dinner?"

 

"Like you'd have to ask," he said. He quickly rose from his chair and turned, walking Jim backwards until the back of his lover's legs hit the edge of the bed. "Want to mix it up a bit tonight...want _you_ inside _me_ ," he murmured into Jim's ear as he deftly unbuttoned both of their shirts.

 

The younger boy shivered, shrugging the fabric off into a puddle on the floor. "I think I can do that, my Tiger."

 

Seb backed up so he could unbutton and unzip his trousers, sliding them and his pants down to his ankles. He stood before his lover, like some statue come to life. Jim eyed him appreciatively, walking around him slowly in nothing but his trousers. "You are quite the work of art, aren't you, Tiger?" he purred, fingers tracing over the healing mark on Seb's chest.

 

He chuckled roughly, goose bumps breaking out on his skin as Jim's fingers lightly brushed over the mark on his chest from where he had been cut by the knife of the girl who held the final game piece. "Why, thank you," he murmured, bending his head and nipping Jim's neck and earlobe.

 

"Ah, ah, Sebby. Taking before permission is given?"

 

He growled. "Then do I have your _permission_ , sir?"

 

"Not...yet."

 

He made a noise of frustration but moved back, keeping his hands clenched at his sides. Smirking, Jim slowly stripped away the rest of his clothes, already growing hard as he eyed his boyfriend. Then, he lay down on his bed and began stroking himself, moaning Seb's name. The older boy's mouth watered and his cock twitched and throbbed. "Do...I have permission now?" he asked, his voice strangled.

 

"Patience, my dear S- _Sebby_ ," Jim purred, shooting him a smirk of pure enjoyment. "Although you may...move around...hands off yourself, though."

 

He growled and stalked around the room, keeping his blue eyes on Jim, digging his fingernails into his palms. " _Please_..." he finally breathed.

 

"On your bed. On your back," he ordered.

 

Seb nearly scrambled, but he managed to keep some dignity. He lay on his back, giving Jim his best 'come hither' look. The boy rose slowly, snagging the bottle of lube from his side table before climbing up onto his lover. "Ever the eager one, aren't you?"

 

"For you, _always_ ," he said.

 

Jim coated two fingers and slipped them slowly into Seb, pumping and twisting them as he studied his lover's expressive face. He moaned and arched into Jim's fingers, his face screwed up in desire. "Nnnnh...please, _more_..."

 

He added in a third finger, pressing in deep enough to brush his prostate, almost tickling it with gentle touches and teasing strokes

 

"Ahhh-! Ohgod _Jim_...need you...- _hhhannh_ -in me. Need your cock..." he said, crying out as Jim's clever fingers almost undid him.

 

"How could I say no to that?" Pouring a liberal amount of lube on himself, Jim withdrew his fingers and slowly replaced them with his length until he was completely buried in the other boy.

 

Seb keened and arched his head back into the pillows as Jim filled him to the hilt. "GODFUCKINGDAMMITJIMOHGODYOUFEELSOGOOD..."

 

The genius's eyes were nearly closed in lust and desire. "As do you," he purred, rocking his hips slowly as he leaned down to work Seb's neck. The blonde hissed as he felt Jim's mouth and teeth at his throat. He rocked his hips in time with Jim's, wanting more speed, but fine with the slow pace.

 

"Patience..."

 

"Is something that I'm running out of, Magpie," he panted. "Please...I'm-nnngh-so _close_..." he said, nearly whimpering, feeling the fire rise in his belly.

 

Jim started stroking him in counterpoint to his thrusts, capturing one hard nipple in his mouth as he worked.

 

"Ahhh..! Ohgod _JIM_!" he cried out, eyes screwing shut as the pleasure washed through him. He was teetering on the brink now.

 

Jim dragged his teeth over the sensitive skin and gave the man a  good, firm squeeze before looking up at him. "Come for me."

 

With a loud cry of his lover's name, he did just that, coming in great arcs over Jim's hand and his own chest and belly. "Oh my _god_..." he breathed when he had finished.

 

Smiling, Jim pulled out and lay next to Seb, his hand gently playing over his arousal. His lover pouted. "Stupid... you didn't finish," the older boy murmured, rolling over to face his lover. Then he got an idea. He moved his mouth over the skin of Jim's chest and abdomen before moving steadily southwards. He paused at Jim's cock and, looking up at his lover through his eyelashes, took him into his mouth.

 

"I'm not-" _Stupid_ , but Jim's retort was lost in the completely wanton moan that escaped his lips. "Sebby...oh my Sebby..."

 

Seb hummed and chuckled slightly around his mouthful, moving down until he had Jim in his throat. He swallowed once and moved his tongue along his length.

 

The boy shrieked, arching off the bed and trembling. "More...almost-SEB!!!!! SebbySebbySebby..."

 

He moved his hands down to fondle his lover's sac and started a slow rhythm, punctuated by a swallow every once in a while.

 

"Nnnggh...I can't...oh _SEB_!!!!!!" Jim came with the blonde's name on his lips before sinking boneless into the mattress. Sebastian took and swallowed what Jim gave him, cleaning him off with this tongue and withdrawing with a satisfied smile.

 

"Proud...of yourself...are you?"

 

"Mmhm," he murmured before moving up to lay beside his lover. "Now...let's go shower and go to dinner."

 

"After you."

 

oOoOo

 

Molly checked the clock: eleven forty-five. The moon was high and full as she made her way down to the willow. The night air was cold, so she bundled up, admiring the frost that still rimed the grass as she walked down to the riverbank and leaned against the great old tree. The branches were holding little green buds that promised to burst into long leaves in another two or three weeks, when the weather warmed more. She sighed and kept her vigil for her lover, her prince, her Hamlet.

 

"And then I looked and discovered that what I saw could not be real, but must be a faerie trick, and yet, somehow, it is no trick. My lover waits for me beneath our tree, as beautiful as a queen and as ethereal as a being from another world."

 

She jumped and stifled a gasp. "You _scared_ me!" she breathed. Then she blushed brightly. "I...your note..." she said, moving slowly over to him.

 

"I wrote that after you left on Sunday. It was impossible to stop thinking about you" Sherlock replied as he stepped into the moonlight.

 

Her breath caught in her throat. "It's been impossible to stop thinking about you, either. Especially when I took down the braids when I got home on Sunday," she said. "And I've never had a sonnet written for me before. I'm...honored," Molly said, smiling shyly.

 

"Well," he murmured, taking her in his arms, "it seemed like the least I could do. Then you can carry around a piece of my heart with you, although at this point, I daresay you _are_ my heart."

 

She looked up at him, brown eyes wide, said heart thrumming inside her breast. "I'll never leave it behind. And...I think it's safe to say...that you are _my_ heart as well," she murmured.

 

Sherlock felt his eyes burn as he leaned down to kiss her, finally starting to adjust to the idea of being with her despite his anxieties. Molly's mouth met his, and she kissed him, full of passion and desire and understanding, that despite the risks, they'd be together, that despite everything that was happening, they loved each other. She cupped his face in her hands and feathered kisses over his cheeks and eyelids, resting her forehead on his and simply breathing him in.

 

"I love you, Molly, my Ophelia, my love, my heart, my own.," he whispered, kissing her face whenever he could manage.

 

"And I love you, Sherlock. My Hamlet, my prince, my stars, my sun," she whispered back, clutching him closer to her, winding her fingers through his dark curls.

 

He shivered. "You know what that does to me."

 

She chuckled softly. "Yes, I do."

 

"Then why?"

 

"Because I love to watch you like that...it...ah..." she suddenly felt embarrassed. "It...it makes me feel...good. Hard to explain. Because I know that I'm the one that's making you...um...feel like this."

 

He smirked before lowering his lips to her ear. "Just as I know what my voice does to you," he purred. She shivered and gasped, her eyes fluttering shut at that low purr in her ear, sending sparks through her body.

 

"Now, a parting kiss goodnight, my fair nymph. You must return safely, but I believe I'll have something worked out for Thursday."

 

She smiled and gave him that parting kiss, full of love and promise and joy. "Goodnight...goodnight...a thousand times goodnight. Parting is such sweet sorrow," she breathed against his mouth.

 

"Would that our night were come," he replied, kissing her once more. "Farewell, my Ophelia." (1)

 

She kissed him once more, hard, not wanting to go. "Farewell...my love," she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)- Romeo and Juliet Act II, Scene ii
> 
> (2)- Hat tip to both Romeo and Julie Act III, Scene ii and to Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii


	12. Run for Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burn the heart out of you...that was the promise.

It was before the final class on Thursday when Jim put his plan into motion. He had the heart, beautifully preserved in its stainless steel jar, in his bag, along with all the implements to set it alight, and he was wearing close-fitting leather gloves; the last thing he wanted to do was leave prints. He whistled a jaunty Beatles tune as he walked along the hallways, morphing into the lyrics as he checked the classroom to make sure that it was abandoned. There was no one in there but himself.

 

_Perfect._

 

He grinned and made his way to Molly's desk. "You better run for your life if you can, little girl. Hide your head in the sand, little girl. Catch you with another man, that's the _end_...little girl..." he sang softly, taking out all that he needed. The heart hit the desk with a wet 'splat', and he looked around once more before taking out the tools of arson. He stuffed the ventricles of the heart with dry cotton and some soaked with gasoline before taking out a match and striking it. He admired the blue and gold glow of the flame before setting the dry cotton alight. It caught beautifully, and soon the organ was a burning mass of meat. He hotfooted it out of there, dumping all the tools he used in his bag (which he then chucked in the bin on the other side of the courtyard) and went to find a safe place to watch the aftermath.

 

Sherlock was on his way to class when he smelled something off, but the smell was only the precursor to seeing the smoke issuing from his classroom. Panicking, he dropped his briefcase and dashed in to see...

 

_Oh God._

 

There was a heart, an unmistakably _human_ heart burning on Molly's desk. At that moment, the sprinkler system kicked in and Sherlock dove for the fire extinguisher stowed in his cupboard. He doused the flaming organ and shuddered to think that someone had done this on purpose...no, not someone. There was only one person capable of this, only one person who might even have the slightest grudge to bear, the person who had tried to kill Molly Hooper and failed.

 

Sherlock strode from the room, casting his gaze about the courtyard that was just outside his door. It didn't take him long before his icy gaze met and equally gleeful brown one. Jim chuckled as he met the cold, blue gaze of his rival, Professor Sherlock Holmes. He knew that he'd figure it out. He was just so _clever_ after all. He waited until the tall man was only a short distance from him, close enough to hear what he had to say. He looked Holmes square in the eye.

 

"I have seen your heart...and it is _mine_."

 

Sherlock's eyes widened imperceptibly before he dashed forward and hauled the boy out from his hiding spot by his ear. "Regardless of whether or not I can pin you for this, I will ensure your punishment to the full extent of my abilities. Am I understood?"

 

Jim smirked, even as he winced. "Clear as _river water_ , professor."

 

Sherlock dragged the student all the way to the headmaster's office and barged in, shoving him down into the seat before Lestrade. "I have reason to believe this student just set fire to a human heart in my classroom."

 

Lestrade blinked. "And what proof do you have? Wait... _human heart_?"

 

Sherlock grimaced. "Yes, a human heart, and if it is examined, I highly doubt any prints or DNA will be found or recovered, but he was the only student anywhere close to my classroom and was watching the door."

 

The headmaster's eyes went grim and dark. "I can't do anything about it without conclusive, solid evidence. But...but I can do what's in my power. Academic probation for the foreseeable future and you are removed from housing permanently, Mr. Moriarty. You _will_ show up for classes, but you are banned from any school-hosted, funded, or run events for the rest of the term. Do I make myself _clear_?"

 

Jim stared back with an air of extreme boredom. "Clear as ice, _sir_."

 

Something about what he said sent a chill down the headmaster's spine. "Get out of my sight. Pack your things. You are to be gone within the hour," he said quietly.

 

Jim stood and turned on his heel as he silently left the room. English would be cancelled for the day, that much was a given; and then he remembered Seb's warning and inwardly groaned. Things were not going quite according to plan.

 

oOoOo

 

Sebastian turned as he heard the door open. "Well, you're back early!" he said, pleased. Then, the smile left his face as he saw Jim's expression: dark and thunderous and just a little bit desperate. "What happened?" he demanded.

 

"Suspended."

 

Seb went pale. "What? Why?!"

 

"Because the fucking Professor is too smart for his own good, that's why!"

 

"Did he catch you? I _told_ you to be careful!"

 

"He saw me watching, so he can't pin anything on me, and there's no proof. My _eye_ just so happened to be visible."

 

"Thank god you're only suspended, not expelled. That would be-why are you packing?"

 

"Because this is a special type of suspension, Sebastian. It's called academic probation with my housing privileges revoked," Jim spat, shoving down the panic and anger welling up inside his chest at the thought of not being near his boyfriend all the time anymore.

 

Seb's breath left him in a rush, like he had been punched in the gut. "Oh _fuck_ ," he murmured, sitting down heavily in his chair. "Is there no way to get out of this? No way at all?" he asked, somewhat desperately.

 

Jim glanced at him as he stuffed his shirts and pants into a suitcase. "Uh, no. No there isn't, Sebby."

 

He sat there, staring emptily at the tile of the floor as Jim continued packing. When the boy was nearly done, Seb started panicking a little. He got up and crossed the room swiftly, wrapping his arms tightly around his lover's torso. "I don't want you to go..." he murmured into the skin of Jim's neck, feeling his eyes suddenly sting with tears; he angrily banished them.

 

Jim shuddered, letting go of what he was packing in favor of hugging Seb instead. "I don't want to leave either, Sebby. And it's just for a little while-"

 

"Too long," he spat, clutching Jim closer to him.

 

"Shhhhh, Tiger, Daddy's got you."

 

Seb let out a shuddering sigh before he reluctantly let Jim go. "You...you should finish packing," he said, the words tearing at his heart.

 

"It'll go faster if you help. Give you a few extra minutes with little old me before I go."

 

The older boy quickly started grabbing his roommates and lover's things and packing them swiftly and efficiently. The process, regrettably, went all too quickly and left them both standing in a half-bare room. He looked sadly at the boxes and bags that were neatly lined up against one side. Jim sat on his bare bed, back to the wall and opened his arms. "I have ten minutes before the Headmaster gets his knickers in a twist. Come here."

 

Seb walked to Jim's arms and clutched him as tightly as he could, taking in one last opportunity to breathe in his lover's scent.

 

"I'm still here for classes even if I'm not allowed to stay on campus or attend events, my precious Tiger." He carded his fingers through Seb's hair, deciding that it was truly one of his favorite things to do.

 

"Not gonna be enough," he murmured, his voice thick, nuzzling into Jim's skin as he drank in his touch.

 

"Whyever not?"

 

"Because we won't be able to _see_ each other. We don't have classes together, Jim..." He was frantically trying to figure out ways he could meet up with the boy throughout the rest of the semester which suddenly seemed to stretch on forever.

 

"You could always come and visit."

 

"True. But it's still not enough. Gonna go crazy without seeing you every day," he said. He stopped his words and just contented himself with touch, the texture of Jim's skin under his fingertips, the feel of his hair and the heat of his breath against him. The boy continued to hold him and cradle him close, finally pressing kisses to the fringe of curls at the top of his forehead.

 

"Don't leave..." he hated the way that his voice sounded so thin and plaintive.

 

"Orders from above, my dearest pet," Jim sighed, kissing his temple.

 

He growled. "Fuck the orders. I'd burn the school down if I could get you to stay."

 

"You shouldn't play with fire, Sebby-"

 

"And what? That gives you a pass to?"

 

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

 

He sighed and held Jim closer as he looked at the clock. "Time's up," he murmured softly.

 

"Kiss me, please, Tiger?"

 

Seb did as he was asked and kissed Jim so hard and so well that spots danced before his eyes when he broke the contact.

 

"Well then," the younger boy coughed, staring into the watering, blue eyes of his roommate, friend, and lover. "I believe that's my cue."

 

He squeezed Jim's hand one final time. "I love you..." he murmured softly as Jim turned to go.

 

The genius glanced back over his shoulder as he picked up his suitcase. "Love you too."

 

The door clicked shut with a sound of finality, leaving Seb, not for the first time...alone. Jim shouldered his bag and started for his car. He'd get the rest of his things over the coming weeks, give him an excuse to see Seb anyway, but the boy was right even if Jim didn't want to admit it.

 

It wasn't going to be enough.

 

oOoOo

 

Molly looked at the milling crowd outside of her English classroom, confused. "What's going on?" she asked aloud.

 

"Some nutter set fire to a heart in Holmes' classroom!"

 

Her eyes went wide. " _What_?" she said, quickly followed by "was anyone hurt?"

 

"Nah. Got put out in time. But class is cancelled while they clean up the mess," another boy added, his statement about the class causing a cheer and a dispersal of the crowd, all of them chattering eagerly about what they'd do with their newfound free time. She stayed behind and stood near the door, her own heart beating in her chest.

 

Having seen to it that Jim had been punished (although not nearly enough in his eyes, Sherlock made his way back to the classroom, rolling his eyes at the small crowd that was clearly dispersing. His gaze landed on Molly for a fraction of a second before he motioned to her with his head in the direction of his office before picking up his briefcase and heading that way himself. The girl felt her heart suddenly jump to her throat as he motioned at her to follow him to his office. She did so, keeping up as best she could with his long strides.

 

As soon as they made it and the door was shut behind them, Molly let out a great sigh. "Are you all right?" she asked, crossing to her lover, her eyes alight with worry as she rested a hand on his chest.

 

Sherlock took her hand and gently removed it, pushing it back down to her side and making sure no one could see into the room. "I am unhurt."

 

She was confused as he pushed her hand back. "That's good," she said quietly. "What's the matter?" she asked. She could tell that something else was wrong, was weighing on his mind.

 

He turned back to look at her and steeled his resolve. "Whatever you have in your head that this is between us, Miss Hooper, is a fantasy, nothing more."

 

Molly blinked and went pale. "Wh-what?" she asked softly, hardly daring to believe what she had just heard.

 

"It was cute and flattering, but I consider myself married to my work. That is the only relationship I wish to maintain at this time."

 

She staggered, as if under a great blow. "But...but you said...you said you _loved_ me..." she said, her voice rife with pain and disbelief.

 

"And you've also seen me act in class. My word is never to be trusted."

 

Molly felt all the air leave her lungs and the room darkened a bit. She could faintly hear the sound of something shattering, as if it were a long way off. "I...I can't believe that. I _won't_. We... we made love, you and I. You...you wrote a _sonnet_ for me..." she said, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

 

"Simply a test to see how far gone you were. An experiment of sorts. Now I've gathered all the data I need and have grown bored."

 

She closed her eyes and winced, the tears spilling down her face. When she opened them, they were cold and blank, as if they were made of stone. "Right. I see," she said softly, her words cut and crafted out of pain. "Well, I'm glad that your... _experiment_ was successful." Molly turned to leave, then faced him once more. "You always say such horrible things... _always_ ," she whispered, her voice breaking. And with that, she fled, her heart shattered to pieces, leaving her a smoking wreck.

 

As soon as the door shut, Sherlock collapsed in the chair behind his desk; his chest ached and burned, and he wanted to tear at it or rip the hair out of his head. He'd known he'd have to break it off with her for her own protection; he couldn't continue to endanger her, not when Jim's message had been so painfully clear. _Burn the heart out of him, burn the one he loves, destroy them both_. So, he'd ended it to protect her and keep her safe, and if he never loved again...well, it would be worth it to see her continue to breathe and exist and live, wouldn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We cited the song in the story, but we were in the car and it came on shuffle and we just looked at each other and screamed in delight, realizing that the song was perfect. Here are all the lyrics if you haven't heard (it's from the 'Rubber Soul' album):
> 
> Well I'd rather see you dead, little girl  
> Than to be with another man  
> You better keep your head, little girl  
> Or I won't know where I am
> 
> You better run for your life if you can, little girl  
> Hide your head in the sand little girl  
> Catch you with another man   
> That's the end'a little girl
> 
> Well you know that I'm a wicked guy  
> And I was born with a jealous mind  
> And I can't spend my whole life  
> Trying just to make you toe the line
> 
> You better run for your life if you can, little girl  
> Hide your head in the sand little girl  
> Catch you with another man   
> That's the end'a little girl
> 
> Let this be a sermon  
> I mean everything I've said  
> Baby, I'm determined  
> And I'd rather see you dead
> 
> You better run for your life if you can, little girl  
> Hide your head in the sand little girl  
> Catch you with another man  
> That's the end'a little girl
> 
> I'd rather see you dead, little girl  
> Than to be with another man  
> You better keep your head, little girl  
> Or you won't know where I am
> 
> You better run for your life if you can, little girl  
> Hide your head in the sand little girl  
> Catch you with another man  
> That's the end'a little girl  
> Na, na, na  
> Na, na, na  
> Na, na, na  
> Na, na, na


	13. Thus With a Kiss...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only one thing left before Jim can put his plan into action.
> 
> It's also class performance day for Romeo and Juliet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

The next few days were a blur to Molly. She didn't know how she made it through the following Tuesday's class; she didn't answer any questions, passed in her work, and was absolutely silent. She kept her head bent to her desk and read, but Thursday's class was the toughest yet: their arbitrary read aloud. She sighed and closed her eyes; her heart was still reeling, and her hand went to her pocket. No matter how much it hurt to think about _him_ , she had kept his sonnet to her. She wanted to bin it, wanted to rip it up and burn it, wanted to scatter it to the four winds, throw it in the river...but she couldn't. She traced the edge of the folded paper and swallowed hard. Time to put on a show...a show of being normal.

 

"Today we will be reading from the final act of Romeo and Juliet. Do I have any volunteers for the ill-fated lovers?"

 

She didn't know _why_ she did so, but Molly found her hand in the air along with Jim's. She nearly laughed. _How ironic._

 

"Very well. Miss Hooper, Mr. Moriarty," Sherlock did his very best not to spit Jim's name, "if you two would make your way to the front of the class with your plays."

 

She walked to the front of the room, standing next to Jim, her book open to the final scene where Romeo finds Juliet 'dead' in the Capulet mausoleum.

 

As he watched Molly take her place on the floor, Jim had the sudden thought that there was no way he could do this and manage to maintain his image; the image of Molly dead was what helped get him through the long, lonely days and even more barren nights without his faithful Seb by his side... _Seb_...

 

"In your own time, Mr. Moriarty."

 

Jim shot Sherlock a glare before sinking to his knees. It wasn't too difficult to imagine Seb on the floor as cold as death. Tears stung his eyes as he began.

 

"A grave? O no! a lantern, slaughter'd youth,

For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes

This vault a feasting presence full of light.

Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interr'd.

Laying Paris in the tomb

 

How oft when men are at the point of death

Have they been merry! which their keepers call

A lightning before death: O, how may I

Call this a lightning? O my love! my wife!

Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath,

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:

Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet

Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,

And death's pale flag is not advanced there.

Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet?

O, what more favour can I do to thee,

Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain

To sunder his that was thine enemy?

Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet,

Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe

That unsubstantial death is amorous,

And that the lean abhorred monster keeps

Thee here in dark to be his paramour?

For fear of that, I still will stay with thee;

And never from this palace of dim night

Depart again: here, here will I remain

With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here

Will I set up my everlasting rest,

And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars

From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!

Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you

The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss

A dateless bargain to engrossing death!

Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!

Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on

The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!

Here's to my love!"

 

He mimed drinking a bottle of poison, the 'tremors' of it wracking his body as soon as he had.

 

"O true apothecary!

Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."

 

He pressed his lips to Molly's before collapsing at her side, his arm around her waist.

 

Molly nearly gasped as she felt Jim's lips pressed against hers. She 'woke', sitting up, to find Romeo at her side. She smiled, then took note of the bottle of poison, quickly growing pale, tears filling her eyes.

 

"What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end: O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make die with a restorative." She kissed him, slow and sweet.

"Thy lips are warm," she murmured, then she 'heard' Friar Laurence returning with the pageboy. "Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief. O, happy dagger!" She grabbed the 'dagger' from Romeo's belt, holding it poised above her bosom. "This thy sheath-" with a cry, she plunged it into herself.

"There rust...and let me die..." she choked, draping herself over Jim's still form.

 

It took everything Sherlock had to remain passive and aloof as he watched the two students, for as much as he loved Molly and as dangerous as Jim was, the two looked like they fit together. Banishing the thought as quickly as it had come, he led the class in the customary applause and bade the two return to their seats. Molly brushed herself off and disentangled herself from Jim as she made her way silently to her seat, eyes downcast and heart heavy. "Good job," she murmured to Jim as she took her seat.

 

"And a good one to you as well," he whispered back, reaching for her hand and squeezing it gently. "You all right?"

 

She choked out a laugh. "I'm fine," she managed. "Just...fine."

 

"Very well." Jim sat back in his chair as the Professor started reminding them about their final papers, choosing topics, research, rough drafts and deadlines and tuning it all out. He missed Seb more than was feasible, and he needed to see the man sooner rather than later if he had any hope of surviving the rest of the semester

 

oOoOo

 

Seb lounged against the wall in the hallway and heard the scrape and slide of chairs moving, the opening of doors and the chattering of people. He grinned: Jim's last class of the day. The blonde made his way over to the door, looking for the small, dark head and as soon as he saw it, he grabbed Jim by the arm, dragging him away from the crowd to a deserted side corridor. Jim recognized the callused hand as soon as it touched his own, but he had not been expecting it to yank him away from the throng (rather risky if anyone saw), drag him down a corridor and then Seb's mouth and hands were on him and Jim frankly stopped caring.

 

He slammed the younger boy against the wall and kissed him roughly, one hand in his lover's hair, pulling it and tilting his head back to allow him greater access to his mouth and tongue, his other hand at Jim's hip. It had been an entire week since the last time he'd managed to see Seb, and the separation was wearing him very thin indeed. He gladly opened his mouth to the older boy, eagerly kissing back, and he dropped his satchel in favor of winding his arms around Seb's neck.

 

"God, I missed you so much," the blonde panted into Jim's mouth when he broke the kiss for a moment. Jim's arms around his neck felt so _good_ that he failed to notice a figure lurking in a corner of the hallway.

 

Anderson was there, eyes wide, as he watched the King of the School get a proper snogging from Seb Moran. His eyes lit up and he grinned, a thin, greasy expression. He took out his camera phone and snapped a picture; this was just _too good_. "That's to pay you back for breaking my arm, you fuckers," he hissed as he left. He knew that this would be around the school like wildfire. Once back in his dorm a few moments later, he uploaded the file to his computer, put it out in a mass e-mail...and hit 'send.'

 

"I missed you too, Sebby," Jim breathed back before pulling him in for another kiss. "Too long...just too long..."

 

"Tell me about it. Can barely sleep without you next to me," he murmured, his mouth melding with Jim's as he took what he desperately needed. Jim's scent was sure to cover him now, as he knew his would cover Jim. His hands roved over Jim's back, sliding down towards his arse...and suddenly, his phone went off. He snarled at the interruption. He checked it. 'You Have (1) Unread Email!' He opened it...and nearly dropped his phone as if he had been burned.

 

"What?" Jim snatched the mobile and stared, his face going chalky pale.

 

" _Fuck_ ," Seb hissed. "You need to go, get out of here. I'll go around, take the long way," he muttered, his mind going a mile a minute. "When I get my hands on Dino-Dick..." he growled as he walked away, hot on Jim's heels. Jim grabbed his satchel and sprinted to the end of the corridor only to almost bowl over Sally Donovan.

 

"No way...hail to the King..." she scoffed as she managed to right herself. "You and your paramour here been discovered..." she said, gloating. She had never liked Jim or Seb.

 

"My _what_?!"

 

"Paramour...fuck buddy...lover... _boyfriend_ ," she clarified, sneering. A crowd was gathering behind her, the murmuring and whispering seeming deafening to Seb's ears. There were a few catcalls and wolf-whistles from the assembly.

 

Jim snarled at her, quelling the terror and anger as he saw her cronies gathering, all laughing at an image on their mobiles or at him and Seb. "And I suppose you actually believed that picture? It's _Anderson_ , you little chit. You know, the Photoshop whiz?"

 

Sally laughed. "Yeah...doesn't look photo shopped to me. So, how long have you two been boffing? Was little miss Rich Bitch your beard?" she said, scorn painting her voice. "Or did you two _share_ the slut?"

 

Jim's lips could have been a perfect line segment from how he was pressing them together. "If you are at all interested, I'm not in a relationship and have not been since Molly dumped me. Now, are you _quite_ finished here? So quick to accuse, especially since _you_ are generally the other woman in all of your relationships."

 

Sally hissed, stung. "Whatever. Go and fuck your _boyfriend_. Or crawl back to Miss Priss, the headmaster's girl," she said, before walking away.

 

Seb stood there, feeling like his heart had been scooped out of his chest. So. That's all he was: an _experiment_ , something to be _denied_. A _mistake_. Jim watched the crowd disperse now that the 'show' was over. His fists were clenched and had Anderson been there in front of him, he would have throttled the boy, regardless of his aversion to killing with his own hands.

 

"Right...I'll be off now," Seb said, quiet fire in his voice.

 

"You'll be off? That's it? Snog 'em and leave 'em now, that's how you work?"

 

"If I'm not mistaken, you're the one who's 'snog 'em and leave 'em.' Seeing as you haven't been in a relationship since Kitten dumped you..." he spat.

 

"What else am I supposed to say to the Donovan slut?"

 

"Oh, I dunno. But something other than that. That you _are_ in a relationship. Instead of writing me off like last week's trash."

 

"Sebastian-"

 

"What? What do you have to say to me now that you couldn't have said then?"

 

"If I had said I was in a relationship, then why would I have been snogging you in the corridor? That would have led to more questions and more prying, and it is none of their fucking business what I do on my own time. I'm the bloody King of the school; I have a reputation and an image to maintain. Not that you would know anything about that." As soon as the last sentence was out, Jim knew it was over.

 

Seb reeled backwards as if he had been struck. "Right. All right. I see," the blonde said softly, bitterly. "An image to maintain. And certainly a _nobody_ like me wouldn't know anything about that." He walked up and punched Jim in the jaw. "Fuck you," he hissed. "Fuck you for your _lies_. For using me. For jerking me around like a dog on a chain. And fuck me for _ever_ believing it," he finished softly. "Goodbye, Jim. And if I never see you again, it'll be too soon."

 

The smaller boy stumbled from the punch, staggering back into the corridor wall as he watched Seb stalk away. He was frozen to the spot, shock and horror overpowering every other thought in his head, but it did not take long for the rage to set in, coursing through his mind and destroying every single bit of happiness he'd ever had or found.

 

_"May you always be alone!"_

 

The words from his first hunt burst through his mind and drove him to his knees. He did not cry. He did not scream. From the ashes of his mind sprung one thought and one alone.

 

_Molly is to blame._

 

 _She_ had dumped him, _hers_ was the relationship Sally had thrown in his face, it was all because of _her_ that he'd had to try again, had trusted Seb, learned how to hunt, come up with everything. It was because of Molly that his chest was now empty and cold. And she would pay. Jim Moriarty would make sure of it.


	14. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final part of Jim's plan

Molly sighed as she looked at the time on her mobile again. She had, out of the blue, gotten a text from Jim, saying that he wanted to meet her for tea after their Shakespeare exam, and she'd accepted; she needed someone to talk to, and Jim seemed the best candidate. They had both gotten their hearts broken after all. The news about him and Seb had spread through the school like a wildfire, and she didn't have to think twice to know that it was over between them. Molly sat in the tea shop and waited for him, smiling and refusing politely every time the waiters came over to ask her what she wanted.

 

Jim saw her sitting there oh so sweetly and innocently as he approached. "Molly, hi!"

 

"Hey, Jim. How are you holding up?" she asked, standing to give him a brief hug.

 

"Perfect. Just fine and dandy," he said, brushing off the stab of pain he seemed to feel every time he thought of Seb. "Please, sit. It's been a long enough week without having to go through formalities."

 

"Right. I waited for you to get here before I ordered...hope you don't mind," she said as she sat back down. "Earl Grey all right?"

 

"That would be just fine."

 

Molly ordered a pot of loose-leaf tea and it was quickly brought to the table. "Ah...sorry, but I need to use the ladies," she said apologetically.

 

"Too much water before the exam?" he teased.

 

"Maybe a little. Back in a tick!" she said, blushing a bit. She made her way towards the back of the shop where the restrooms were, leaving her purse and coat behind.

 

Donning his gloves, Jim poured his own cup, catching the tea leaves in the strainer before removing the lid and pulling out several leaves from the nightshade he and Seb had picked. The boy fumed as he dropped the leaves in the pot; he'd been forced to go dumpster diving for the rest of his things after the break up, and the four leaves now torn up and steeping were all he'd managed to salvage. He replaced the lid and glanced back to the loo: no sign of her. Reaching into the pocket of her coat, he palmed her wallet and slipped it into his own pocket.

 

Molly came back as swiftly as she could. "Sorry for the wait!" she said cheerily as she sat, adding sugar to her cup before pouring her tea and adding milk to cool it. Once she was satisfied, she took a sip. "Oh, that's good," she sighed happily as the hot liquid ran down her throat, taking another, longer sip.

 

Jim smiled at her, blowing on his own cup. "Glad you like it. I'm partial to their brew myself."

 

She drank more tea and pulled a bit of a face. "Tastes a little different, though," she said.

 

"Different how?"

 

"Dunno...a bit more pungent than usual," she said. She finished her cup and reached for the teapot, but halted. Everything was suddenly too bright and too loud. She blinked and shook her head to clear it. "Sorry...a bit...woozy all of a sudden," she said, grabbing the teapot handle again and pouring her tea into her cup, her hands shaking a bit.

 

"Allow me." He took the pot, hands still gloved and poured her another cup. "There you go," he said, removing the strainer and placing it on the small plate in the center of the table.

 

"Thanks, Jim. You're so nice," she said, adding the sugar and milk, taking another sip. Everything was still too bright and too loud...and now...her heart began to race. She choked slightly on her tea and put the cup down heavily on her saucer. "I'm sorry, Jim. I...I think I need to go home," she said, looking worriedly at the boy who sat across the table from her, entirely focused on her.

 

"Too much excitement?" he asked innocently, tilting his head slightly from side to side.

 

She closed her eyes and opened them; the room swam back and forth. "Everything's dancing..." she whispered, gripping the edges of the table.

 

Jim rose and cracked his knuckles before rounding the table and helping her up. "There we go, that's a good girl," he purred in her ear as he helped her up.

 

"Gotta...get home...need to lie down," she murmured, clinging to him. She left her coat and purse behind and she swayed as Jim led her to the door of the tea shop.

 

The pale boy led her to the nearest bench and sat her down. "There, rest a moment."

 

"Thanks, Jim," she said. She blinked, looking up at him, not knowing her eyes were dilated so widely that they looked black now. "Can you stay with me for a bit...? Don't want to be alone," she said, grabbing at his coat.

 

He smirked and sat next to her, gently removing his coat from her hands. "Actually, it's time for me to go, _Kitten_."

 

"But...why?" she asked, trying to concentrate.

 

"Well, Kitten, you see...you're broken and I don't want to play with you anymore," he replied, smirking. "It's been grand, but you're just too much of a nuisance, a liability as it were, and you have been ever since November."

 

She went pale as his words reached her. "What...have...you done?" she said quietly.

 

"A simple, common herb, Kitten, nothing more, but you won't be troubling me again."

 

"No...no, no, no, _no_..." Molly muttered, half-collapsing as he got up. She stood to follow him, but the world warped and shivered. She started walking, one foot in front of the other, stumbling back and forth, shaking and swaying like a linden in a high breeze. She was vaguely aware that she bumped into someone hard, and she clutched at them. "Help me... _please_..." she begged.

 

He gripped her arms tightly. "Farewell, my pet," he purred before releasing her quickly. Turning on his heel, he rolled his neck, turned up the collar on his coat, and James Moriarty disappeared into the crowd.

 

oOoOo

 

Molly reeled backwards, nearly falling. "God... _help me_..." she pleaded to no one as she almost tripped again. She staggered more and heard the whispers of the crowd. She began to pant as her heart felt like it was going to beat its way out of her chest just as someone caught her.

 

"It's all right. I've got you. Hospital, yes?"

 

"Please..." she said. The boy who was holding her up was ragged and rough, clearly homeless. "Thank you...thank you so much," she murmured, leaning heavily on him.

 

"C'mon then, luv. Let's hurry. Got any money?"

 

"Wallet..." she said, moving a hand to pat her pockets as the boy hailed a cab. She groaned. "Wallet's gone. Dunno where it is," she said, despairingly.

 

"A mobile? Anything we could use to get you help?"

 

"Got m' mobile...in m' other pocket," she mumbled. "Getting...hard to breathe."

 

The boy fumbled for it before helping Molly sit and yanking it from her pocket, dialing 999. He gave them the address and told them it looked like the girl had been poisoned and did not have long. As soon as he hung up, he slipped the phone back into her pocket. "I'm Wiggins."

 

"Wiggins...nice name. I'm Molly," she said, smiling weakly at him.

 

"Well then Molly, where are you from? What do you do?" He had to keep her talking.

 

"Not far from here...five, ten miles, mebbe. I'm a student. Forensic pathology...minor in English," she said.

 

"Stuff you like to read? Forensic thingy...what's that?" _Where the HELL was that ambulance_?

 

"Liked Shakespeare...dunno if I do much anymore..." she said, her brow furrowing. "F'rensic pathology. Studying the dead..." she said, and her eyes fluttered and shut just as the ambulance screamed up, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

 

"No! Stay with me. Molly!"

 

She fought to open her eyes again. She moved her hand into her pocket, clutching at the note that was there, well-worn and much read. "M' tired," she protested, her head falling on to Wiggin's shoulder.

 

He helped her up into the arms of the paramedics before trying to climb in after her; they shoved him back, thanked him for calling in her condition, and then sped away, leaving Wiggins in a small cloud of fumes at the side of the road.

 

Everything was hazy and out of focus. "Want m' Daddy," she said, a whimper leaving her. Then she seized, her body arching up off the stretcher, eyes rolling back into her head as her heart stuttered and stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have all of Part 3 complete! Part 4 should start to go up soon. We're nearing the end of the road now.


End file.
